Between the Lines
by cmar
Summary: AU post season version of PROO. Operation Overdrive is finished, but life still holds a few surprises for Mack and Andrew Hartford as they seek challenge and adventure, and encounter love in unexpected places. Crossover with Space and pre-SPD. Complete.
1. Pas de Deux, part I

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

**A/N:** Spoilers for the end of Operation Overdrive. This is an AU version of what might have happened after the series if Mack had not been made human by the Corona Aurora. If you've read my story "Imitation of Life", consider that a prolog. If not, just assume that Mack was saved by the Corona Aurora but remained an android, that he reconciled with his father and accepted his own situation but still has some identity issues, and because of that he decided to leave Earth for a time and go to Mercuria with Tyzonn, but promised to return someday.

Warning: There are none of the usual pairings in this story, so if you're looking for Mack/Rose and are going to be upset by seeing either of them with someone else, this fic is not for you. There will be an unconventional pairing, and some romance involving OCs, too.

* * *

**Pas de Deux, part I**

_**September 2008, San Angeles**_

The first letter came about seven months after Mack had left Earth.

Andrew Hartford almost didn't hear Spencer's purposefully cleared throat. The second time the sound came he reluctantly dragged his attention away from the computer on his desk. He was in the study in his mansion which had so recently been wrecked and only a few weeks ago completely restored to normal, with a few improvements. Still, the view he saw as he looked up was essentially the same as it had been before, including his butler's impassive face waiting with no outward sign of impatience.

"Excuse me, sir," Spencer said in his most overbearingly professional voice. "I believe this person wishes to see you." He stepped back and beckoned to someone who had been behind him.

As the person stepped forward, Andrew stared, rooted to his chair for a few startled moments. It occurred to him that after having dealt with ancient spirits, monstrous creatures, aliens from other planets, and the mystical crown of the gods, a mere six-foot upright lizard covered with iridescent blue-green scales and dressed in maroon short pants with wide suspenders should hardly be surprising.

"Are you Andrew Hartford?" the lizard asked with a slight lisp.

Andrew nodded numbly.

"I have a letter for you." It - he - whatever - reached into what looked like a leather satchel hanging from a strap around his neck, produced an ordinary-looking envelope and held it out.

Andrew took it gingerly, noticing several odd, spiral stamps and imprints around the edges. He turned it to read the address:

_Mr. Andrew Hartford  
1250 Countryside Way  
San Angeles, CA 91772  
USA  
Planet Earth_

Bewildered, he looked up, and then back down to see the return address:

_Mack Hartford  
Step 26, Sign of Blue Water  
City Cinnabar, Division 9  
Planet Mercuria_

"It's from Mack!" he exclaimed, forgetting about the lizard standing in his study for the moment. "Spencer, it's from Mack!"

"That's wonderful, sir!" Spencer was much too polished to reach for the letter, but he did lean forward slightly, staring at it, a few of his sixty-something years banished by the sparkle in his eyes.

"Sign here, please." The lizard was holding out a flat pale green tablet and a slender spiral of gleaming metal that formed a pen-like shape.

"Um, okay." Andrew took them and hesitated, then scrawled his name in the spot the lizard pointed out to him.

"Do you wish to send a reply?"

"A reply?" Andrew blinked in surprise. "I'd like to, but it'll take a little time to write an answer. I don't want to keep you. And - how do I pay the postage?"

The lizard seemed to sigh in impatience at his backwardness. "The return postage is prepaid, as stated on the transit form." He tapped a line of unintelligible squiggles on the tablet Andrew had signed. "I am approaching the time of my rest period. If you can provide me with a quiet, warm area, I will wait two and one half of your hours for the reply."

"Of course. Spencer..."

"Leave it to me, sir." Spencer turned to the lizard. "Please follow me, um - sir. May I offer you some refreshment? Perhaps lemonade, or something to eat?" He led the way towards the main part of the house.

"Do you have any grasshoppers?"

"Only in the back yard, I regret to say."

Andrew was only half listening as the voices faded away. He held the letter, enjoying the moment of anticipation, and then carefully tore the envelope open and pulled out two sheets of paper covered with Mack's familiar, sloppy handwriting. The kid had made an effort, though, and it was legible. Andrew bent over his desk, fumbling for his glasses, and started to read.

"_Dear Dad and Spencer, _

_I hope you're both doing well. I'm fine. Our trip was great. You should see Tyzonn's spaceship; it's cool, a little small for three people but we did okay. Mercuria took a little getting used to, but it's a great place. Ty has been great, and Vella too. I'm staying at Ty's place until he and Vella get married, which they're planning for sometime next year. Guess what, Ty's started another search and rescue team, and he offered me a job working for him. Of course I took it, and it's great so far._"

Footsteps approached rapidly, and Andrew looked up to see Spencer hurry in, his eagerness barely restrained. "Sir, are you reading the letter?"

"Of course I'm reading the letter, Spencer. What did you do with - er, the mailman?"

"Left him happily chasing insects on the back lawn, where he says he will be perfectly comfortable. Well? What does Master Mack say?"

Andrew smiled. "He says everything's great. I love my son, but he's not the best letter writer I've ever seen."

"A typical teenager, despite... well, everything that is special about him. I imagine we will have to read between the lines."

"Indeed. It's addressed to both of us. Sit down, and I'll read it to you."

"Normally I wouldn't dream of such a familiarity, but in this case..." Spencer pulled up a chair and sat expectantly.

Andrew smiled again, and picked up the sheet of paper.

"_I've been learning rescue methods and first aid and so on. Pretty challenging when you're learning medical stuff for several kinds of aliens, but it's great. Training and working with Tyzonn keeps me pretty busy, but also I've been sight-seeing and doing the whole tourist thing. Cinnabar's a great city, really beautiful, and lots of trees and grass. They really believe in protecting the environment here, Ty says because they almost destroyed the ecology a few centuries ago. _

_Ty's got a whole team of Mercurians, and I'm the only alien. Alien to them, I mean. Seems like I'm always the different one, huh? But it's okay, they all treat me really great. Sometimes I almost feel like I'm back home with Rose, Ronny, Will, and Dax. When you write back be sure to tell me how they're doing, if you've heard from them. Tell them I miss them. _

_I met a girl. She was in one of the classes I took, and her name is Strellia..."_

- x -

"You're pressing too hard, Mack." As he stopped what he was doing, Strellia adjusted the position of his hands on the practice dummy he had been doing chest compressions on, the touch of her fingers - just a little cooler than a human's - sending a tingle through him. "And remember, a Mercurian's heart is here. That's right. Now try again."

More carefully, Mack leaned forward and pressed down, counting the number of compressions to himself.

"Good. I think it's very similar to artificial circulation for a human. Am I right?"

Mack looked up at her face - the same silvery eyes as Tyzonn and Vella, pale skin, but hair that was deep chestnut and unusual for a Mercurian. It was the first thing he had noticed about her in this land of blondes. "I wouldn't know," he said. "Never had this kind of training before."

"New to the field of rescue?"

"Yeah. I mean, I did some stuff like it before. Sort of protecting people."

"Really? You'll have to tell me about it some time. My turn now." Strellia smiled dazzlingly before they switched places and she bent over the practice dummy, her hair spilling forward and hiding her face. Mack watched her, glad once again that she had been assigned as his partner in this Rescue Resuscitation class - and not only because she already had some background in emergency medical procedures and could help coach him.

Leaving his home and making a life in a new world hadn't been quite as easy and pleasant as Mack had hoped it would be, not that Tyzonn hadn't been helpful, or that the Mercurians in general hadn't been welcoming and generous. No, the problem was in him, one that he somehow hadn't anticipated. Although he didn't want to admit it even to himself, Mack was deeply homesick. He missed what he suspected had been the best time of his life: Rose, Ronny, Will, Dax - his friends and teammates, whom he had left behind. Even more, he missed his father, his home, and Spencer. Tyzonn was there, of course, but even with him things weren't the same; Ty spent almost all his time either putting his new rescue team together or with Vella.

Strellia was pretty and smart, always cheerful and friendly, and patient when he made mistakes. Somehow when he was here, when she looked into his eyes and smiled as if he was the only thing she saw, for a moment or two Mack could forget the pangs of loneliness he felt. He had begun to look forward to these classes mostly for the chance to see her, and to wonder if there was any chance of getting to know her outside them. And now, maybe she'd just given him an opening.

After class ended he packed up his things and then waited, feeling awkward as he stood outside a small group of students chatting with Strellia for a few minutes before they finally said goodbye. As she headed for the door he fell in beside her. "So - you going home now?" he asked.

"Yes. Aren't you?"

"Yeah. I was wondering - maybe you'd like to get something to eat? Or a cup of kavao? I mean, if you really want to hear about what I did before coming to Mercuria."

She gave him a considering look, for long enough to make him nervous, and then murmured, "Of course I want to hear about it. I know a small place near here with excellent food, if you'd like to have dinner."

"Great!" Mack grinned in relief, and jumped to open the door as they reached it.

"Thank you, but I'm not too tired to open a door," she said, looking puzzled.

"Just an Earth custom. Hope you don't mind," he said anxiously.

"It's different - but kind of charming. I like it."

- x -

"I still can't believe a Power Ranger is my class partner." Strellia rested her cheek on one hand and gazed at Mack with a flatteringly admiring expression.

"Well... I can't believe you've even heard of the Power Rangers here."

"Of course we have. The Rangers aren't only on Earth, you know. We've never had a team here on Mercuria, but there was one recently on Terra Venture, and before that there were Rangers on KO-35, and of course there's the Aquitian Rangers."

"Wow, that's amazing," Mack said dreamily, wondering why he had never before noticed exactly how beautiful silver eyes were.

"There do seem to be a lot of them on Earth, though. Strange, how often your home planet gets attacked. Why is that?"

"Umm? Beats me. I guess monsters and evil aliens just happen to like us."

"I'm an alien, you know, at least to you." Strellia gave him what he hoped was a flirtatious look, although it was hard to be sure when he didn't really know how Mercurians usually acted in this kind of situation.

"But not evil. Or at least I don't think so."

"No... I hope a girl doesn't have to be evil to get your attention." She gave him a sidelong glance.

Now that _had_ to be flirting on any planet. Suddenly nervous, Mack grinned, shook his head, and tried desperately to think of something clever to say. Fortunately, Strellia saved him by checking the timekeeper she wore on her belt.

"Look at how late it is!" she exclaimed. "I really have to be going, or my parents will be worried."

"Oh... too bad." He got to his feet, fumbled for money, and in a few minutes was following her outside to stand in the street, glancing up at a sight he still found amazing. Mercuria was actually a moon, not a planet; it orbited a gas giant so active that its surface roiled visibly as he watched. When in the night sky, like tonight, it was much more brilliant than Earth's moon, seeming to wash everything around them in a bright silvery light.

Strellia turned her face up to him, her eyes catching the glow as she smiled and put out her hand. "Isn't this another Earth custom? The shaking of hands?" she asked.

"You know about that too?" Mack took her hand in his, holding it as long as he dared.

"I looked it up. Goodnight, Mack. See you in two days." With another smile she turned and started away. Mack watched her until she disappeared inside a transport station. His euphoric mood lasted until he arrived home, and was only slightly dampened by finding that there was again no one there for him to talk to. It might be just as well, he reflected, his mood bumping down another notch. No one to talk to meant no one to ask him when he planned on telling Strellia that he was an android.

- x -

By the last day of class Mack still hadn't figured that one out, any more than he could decide if Strellia was genuinely interested in him or just being friendly. She had cared enough to look up information about Earth - that had to mean something. Or it could only mean that she was curious. They had gone out together after class twice more, once for dinner but once only for a quick drink. She always had to leave after only an hour or two.

After class this time she was the one who waited for him, smiling as he held the door for her again. They were silent until they reached the street in front of the graceful arches of the medical education building. Then Strellia faced him, brushing a long strand of dark red hair out of her face. Mack paused awkwardly, cursing his inability to come up with the right thing to say that would sweep her off her feet and into his arms.

"So - I guess this is it," he managed finally.

She looked puzzled. "This is what?"

"I mean, it's the end of the class. I'll be joining Tyzonn's team now, and you'll be starting work too."

"Yes." Strellia nodded thoughtfully as they began to walk slowly towards the transport station. "I'm looking forward to being a doctor in training at a good hospital. But it's a little frightening too."

"I bet. But you'll be a great doctor, I know you will."

"Thank you. I'll certainly do my best to make my family proud."

"You will." By mutual accord they left the sidewalk and stopped again, this time in the shade and relative privacy of a small clump of decorative trees. Again Mack searched for something to say and ended up with only the simple truth. "I hope I see you again."

"We're in the same field of work; we'll see each other sometimes." She laughed lightly at his expression of disappointment, and reached out to take his hand. "Call me at the hospital, or just come by sometime. We can have a meal, and - get to know each other better."

The promise in her voice was unmistakable, even to Mack. He grinned, and when she held out her other hand he took it and leaned in, very tentatively. She came to meet him, her face lifting to his, her lips soft and cool as he bent his head to kiss her. For just a moment she moved closer, her body molding to him and his hands resting on her waist, and then it was over and she was looking up at him, smiling that same dazzling smile.

Mack could remember every instant of it, every detail of how her mouth felt and exactly where the curves of her body had pressed against him, as he let long habit steer him safely back to Tyzonn's empty house. He had hazy memories of long-ago kisses shared with high school girls, but now he knew they had never happened; they had only been implanted in his mind by his father as part of a normal, happy, and entirely fictional childhood. No, this had been his first real kiss, and the reality made the deceptions fade into nothingness.

- x -

Mack made a lot of plans over the next two days, most of which stopped abruptly at the point of his telling Strellia that he wasn't what he appeared to be, and began to feel again a good bit of his resentment towards his father for creating the fix he found himself in. He was even beginning to wonder if he had the courage to take the chance, when life took matters into its own hands.

As it happened, he was rereading one of his favorite adventure books when the real thing interrupted. Mack looked up, startled, as the door to his little room in Tyzonn's house burst open.

"Mack!" Tyzonn exclaimed, looking ready to burst with excitement. "We've got our first assignment! Hurry!"

With that he was gone, dashing for the closet where they kept their gear. Mack followed, and in another moment was hastily pulling on the tunic and leggings that were the closest thing to a uniform they had. The thought flashed through his mind of how similar this was to their Ranger days - operating from home in the informal fashion most Mercurians seemed to prefer, responding to an alarm, knowing he was about to have the chance to make a difference for the better again. He touched the Tracker he now carried on his belt - brought along just in case although he meant to use it as little as possible.

"Where are we going?" he asked as they bolted from the house to Tyzonn's runner - a small vehicle that looked very much like a compact car.

"The other side of the city. There's been a fire. That's been put out but the building's collapsed. The rest of the team will meet us there." Tyzonn frowned, all business now as he started up and they sped on their way.

When they arrived the scene was filled with chaos: masses of people in the street surrounding what he realized was an indoor marketplace he had visited months before, the once open and spacious building now partially collapsed on the busy stalls and booths. Piles of the white foam Mercuria's fire-fighters used were gently melting amid the rubble, quenching the few remaining smoldering spots. Tyzonn had barely pulled to a stop when he was out and running, with Mack hurrying to catch up.

The other four members of their team must have just arrived; they were together in front of the sagging entranceway, talking to a man wearing an order-keeper badge who appeared to be in charge. They spotted Tyzonn and ran to meet him.

"They think everyone got out of the main part of the building," Vella reported without preamble.

"They're not sure?" Tyzonn asked.

"No. And two of the market workers are missing. They may be in the basement."

Tyzonn nodded decisively. "All right. You start searching here, but clear out if there's any sign of another collapse. Mack and I will check the basement."

With a nod and only a quick touch of her hand to Tyzonn's, Vella started back to the entranceway with the other three - Tak, Falah, and Daralle - right after her. Mack followed Tyzonn again, this time around the corner to a trapdoor set next to the wall of the building, fortunately the part that was still intact. It was locked, but a yank on the handle with Mack's super-strength took care of that. A moment later they were descending a narrow stairway, leaving the sunlight behind as the stench of smoke grew thicker and the air filled with haze. Mack saw Tyzonn glance back up at him, and wondered if he was remembering another underground place and the team he had lost there. If so, he showed no sign.

"You okay?" Tyzonn asked before placing his tiny respirator over his nose. Mack nodded, realizing why he had been chosen for this - as an android he could survive without oxygen if he needed to, although some of his energy-producing processes used it. While the smoky air was just as unpleasant to him as to a human, it wouldn't harm him. And of course, he was stronger and tougher than any human or Mercurian.

The smoke swirled and parted just enough for Mack to see two forms huddled at the bottom of the ladder, as if they had tried to get out that way but had been stopped by the trapdoor. To his relief the sound of racking coughs reached him - if they were coughing, they were alive. He jumped over them to the floor right after Tyzonn and knelt, seeing a Mercurian man and woman, both barely conscious. Mack helped the woman up as Tyzonn put spare breathing devices on both victims and got the man on his feet and to the ladder.

There was a cracking, crashing noise from above which rapidly grew to the roar that Mack knew meant more of the building was collapsing. They retreated as pieces of smoldering wood fell through the trapdoor, adding to the smoke and blocking their way. He peered up as the light from outside faded and disappeared.

"Is there another exit from here?" Tyzonn asked the man.

"No - blocked - couldn't get through to the main building..."

"We tried to use the ladder but the door was locked," the woman gasped. "Now we're trapped again!"

"Maybe not," Mack said. He walked back to the ladder and grasped it, looking up. "I'll try to clear a path through this stuff." He looked at the three of them. "You stay back."

For a moment he thought Tyzonn was going to object, but then he nodded. There was no choice, after all; if they didn't get out and the building continued to collapse, Mack would be the only one with any chance of surviving. While the Mercurians could transform into mercury, they couldn't hold that form for more than a few minutes - and if they shifted back while buried under a pile of rubble the results wouldn't be pretty. Quickly he climbed the ladder, slightly reassured as he saw a few rays of light trickling through a twisted mass of half-burned wood.

Bracing himself, Mack raised both hands and shoved, lifting one of the wooden beams. The ladder creaked, but held. He managed to shove the beam aside, and clung to his perch as smaller fragments of debris showered down on him.

"Mack, are you all right?" Tyzonn's shout came from below.

"I'm fine!" Mack went up another step. Only one more really big piece of wood... He pushed at it, and shifted it aside, taken by surprise as it broke over his head with a sound like a rifle shot, the two pieces sliding in and hitting hard as he raised his arms to protect his head. Mack swayed, lost his balance, and fell, plummeting to land on the wood-strewn floor with a crash.

"Mack!" Tyzonn was bending over him, eyes wide, hands on Mack's shoulders.

"Uh..." Mack blinked up, dazed. "I'm okay, I think." He took another look up. "Hey, I think it worked. I can see daylight."

They all turned to look, and scrambled to their feet as Mack got up more slowly. Tyzonn took the woman's arm and led her back to the ladder. "I'll go up first," he said. "Then you two. Mack, you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Let's get out of here."

It was harder climbing up than it had been to come down, but they all made it, and a minute later were stumbling into the open to be greeted by Vella and the rest of their team, along with the firefighters and other rescue workers who took charge of the man and woman.

And... Mack caught sight of a darker head among the crowd, and a familiar face. He grinned as Strellia pushed her way forward and ran to him, hoping he looked impressively heroic. She certainly seemed admiring as she reached him and looked him up and down, but her first words were: "You're hurt!"

Strellia reached for his arm and pulled at the sleeve he hadn't even noticed was ripped. As the excitement of danger faded he realized she was right; the electronic signals his android mind interpreted as pain told him his arm had been damaged. He looked down to see the human-looking skin of his right forearm was ripped from elbow nearly to wrist. Even if there had been blood the cut was too deep for the illusion of humanity to hold; inside the gash metal glinted instead of bone, slender cables instead of tendons, gears and switches and circuits... He gulped, sickened at the sight.

Strellia stared. Then she looked up at his face, her own gone paler than usual. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," she said.

Mack blinked, confused. "Uh - didn't know what?"

"That you have an artificial arm. We can get the damage repaired, don't worry."

"It's okay, nothing serious," Mack mumbled, quickly covering the torn plastic 'flesh'. "Yeah, I'll get it fixed."

Tyzonn had appeared at Mack's side, looking at the arm and glancing quickly at Mack's face. He reached into his first aid kit and came out with a roll of bandage. "I'd better wrap that up for you in the meantime," he said. "Prevent any more damage."

"Thanks." Mack held out his arm and gratefully watched the unwanted sight of his own mechanisms disappear under a layer of gauze. The pain had already faded to an ache.

"That looks like really good quality work." Strellia smiled and patted his shoulder. "Extremely realistic."

"Yeah, you have no idea."

"Mack," Tyzonn said, "The building is clear. No serious injuries." He hesitated and nodded at Vella, who was standing a little distance away. For the first time, Mack noticed she had a stained bandage over one cheek. "I'm going to take Vella home and make sure she's all right. One of the others can go with you."

"Not necessary," Strellia put in. "I'll make sure he gets back safely."

"This is Strellia, my friend from the Rescue Resuscitation class," Mack explained. "I'll be fine. Just take care of Vella."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah," Mack said as Strellia smiled. "I'm sure."

- x -

The sun was setting, its fading light giving way to the stars, when they reached Tyzonn's house. Mack unlocked the door and then turned back to Strellia, debating whether to invite her in. He was tired; she must be too, and she probably only wanted to go home and rest - yet he was also keyed up from the excitement and didn't want to say goodnight just yet. Taking the middle road, he smiled down at her and said, "Thanks for coming with me, Strellia. I'm fine now, if you need to get home or anything."

"Later. I want to check your vital functions before I leave you alone."

"Vital functions?" Irresolute, Mack wavered, trying to think of some plausible reason why she should not measure his pulse and breathing. The breathing he could fake, but the heartbeat... But why avoid it any longer? If they were going to see each other again, he would have to start being honest.

She was looking at him quizzically when he finally moved aside and gestured her in. Silently they padded through the kitchen and into the small, comfortable living area, to sit on the thick, contoured floor pad that served the function of a couch. When Strellia started to open her medical pouch, Mack stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"There's no point." Mack took a deep breath and let it out. "You won't hear a heartbeat or find a pulse."

"What do you mean?" Strellia gave him a puzzled smile. "I know how to measure human functions."

"I'm sure you do. The problem is - well, I'm not exactly human."

"You're - not human? Not an Earthling, you mean?"

"No, I'm from Earth. Strellia..." He took another breath, but it had to be said. "You saw my arm. All of me is like that. Artificial. Mechanical. I'm an android."

"An android." Only surprise showed on her face as she seemed to take that in. "An android. Amazing. I never would have guessed." She looked at him intently, as if trying to see inside him. "Are you sure?"

The question was so unexpected that Mack laughed. "I've had my head removed for repairs. Yeah, I'm sure."

"You're amazingly realistic."

He shrugged. "Thanks, I guess."

"Do you..." She paused uncertainly.

"Do I have real feelings, real thoughts? Am I - alive?"

"Well - yes. Are you?"

Mack smiled, mostly to cover how uncomfortable that question still made him. "I've wondered that a lot myself. There's no way I can answer for sure. What I feel seems pretty real to me, though. I was made to think independently, and to be just like a human, and in most ways I guess I am." He watched Strellia's face, uncertain of her reaction. "So - what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Does it matter to you?" He felt a twinge as the most important question slipped out.

"Why should it?"

Not the answer Mack really wanted to hear, or what he wanted to know. "I mean - I guess I mean - do you still want to be friends with me?"

"Of course." She reached out to take both his hands in hers.

Relieved, Mack grinned and dared to go on to the next important question. "Are you sorry we - you know - kissed?"

"Of course not." Strellia leaned closer, her eyes catching the light of the one dim lamp they had lit. "But I'm sorry we haven't kissed again. Yet."

"We can fix that."

The second kiss was even better than the first, as they met in the half-light with her arms closing around his neck and his holding her tight. Strellia shifted closer until their bodies were pressed together; her lips opened and her tongue teased and withdrew, and again, inviting a response he was eager to give. After a few minutes her hands slid down to his waist, loosening his belt. As she sank to the cushions and pulled him down on top of her, a small voice inside Mack whispered that things were going too far, too fast, but it was faint and easily silenced.

- x -

"Do you have to go?" Mack asked, watching from the bed in his room as Strellia pulled her tunic on over her head. "Tyzonn won't be back tonight. You could stay."

"Thanks, but my parents expect me home." She looked around for her boots and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

"Then I'll go with you. Make sure you get there okay." Mack reached for his leggings and tugged them on before getting up.

"Why?" Strellia turned to him with a puzzled look.

"Well..." She was right; there was virtually no crime on Mercuria, and it wasn't even very late. Still, it didn't _feel_ right to just let her leave by herself. "At least let me walk you to the transport station."

"If you want to."

She waited while he finished dressing, and they made their way down the stairs in the empty house, through the front door, and out into the cool night air and the street, at the moment deserted except for themselves. Side by side, they started on the short walk to the station.

"How does your arm feel?" Strellia asked.

"Fine." Mack lifted and flexed it. "It didn't slow me down much, did it?"

"No." She flashed him a smile. "You didn't seem to be in pain."

Mack laughed. Extreme nervousness, yes, but no pain. He hadn't told Strellia it was his first time, and if she had noticed his clumsiness she hadn't said anything. What she had done was to guide him through it with a sure touch and the same cheerful matter-of-factness as in the resuscitation class. It had been embarrassing and awkward, and exciting and wonderful, and he wanted to do it again as soon as possible.

"So - is tomorrow too soon to call you?"

Her expression changed to puzzlement again. "That depends. What would you be calling about?"

"What would I be calling about? About us getting together again, of course, what else? How about tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow?" Now she looked surprised. "Most of my time is taken now that I'm working. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

Dismayed, Mack said, "You don't sound like you really want to."

"We're friends; of course I want to see you."

He stopped and touched her arm to turn her to face him. "Just friends?"

"I don't understand."

"I mean - we just - after what we just did together, I thought - I thought it meant something to you."

"Of course it meant something. It meant I think you're very nice. It means we're good friends." Strellia looked as confused as Mack felt.

"Didn't it mean anything more?"

"I don't know..." Strellia seemed to search for an answer, and then brightened. "It was also that you were hurt, and you seemed upset, and I wanted to make you feel better."

Stung into anger by disappointment and hurt pride, Mack snapped, "Oh, great, now it was because you felt sorry for me. That makes me feel _so_ much better. Maybe you were curious about what it would be like with an android, too!"

"Well, naturally." As Mack was silenced by further outrage, she went on calmly. "I was curious, I was trying to help, and I like you. What's wrong with that?"

"Do you jump in bed with _everyone_ you like?"

"Most of them."

Mack stared at her. "What?? Like who?"

Strellia held up her hands and began to count on her fingers. "There's Talo, and Frisia, and Nofram, and Beallo, and Suria, and Mytal, oh, and of course Lito and Lita, and --"

"Never mind!"

As much as Mack was hurting, he was beginning to see the ridiculous side of the situation as Strellia's expression became utter bewilderment. "You asked. Now you don't want to know?" She shook her head. "You seem to be angry about something. Have I done anything to harm you? Tell me what's wrong."

"It's just - this isn't the way people do things on Earth." He sighed as she still looked confused. "When people are friends they don't - you know..."

"Ah. You mean Earthlings do not 'jump in bed' with people they like? That seems odd."

"No! I mean, people should like each other more than just as friends before they... Well, most people, anyway. A lot of people. At least where I come from."

"So Earth people are romantics! They must be in love before they have sex."

"Well, no. I mean, some do. Some don't. Oh, I don't know what I mean." Mack sighed again. "Look, all I know is that if I'm with a girl that way, I want it to mean something more. I don't need to be in love exactly, but I want us to be - really together, you know?"

Strellia was watching him, her brows drawn together in thought. "I think I understand. You want onlies - when you are both only for each other. That's what most of us do after engagement and marriage, but there are a few Mercurians who want it before, too." She frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, Mack, but I'm not ready for that."

"And I guess I'm not ready for your way of doing things."

"Too bad; it was fun. I hope we can still be friends."

Mack decided he understood why that particular phrase was so universally hated. "Sure," he said, forced a smile and shook her hand, and watched her turn away and disappear into the station.

- x -

"_I met a girl. She was in one of the classes I took, and her name is Strellia. We went out a couple of times, but it didn't work out. How about that, Dad, I had my first girlfriend and my first breakup, all in a few days."_

"Oh dear," Spencer said, meeting Andrew's eyes as he looked up from the letter. "How quickly they grow up."

"Yes. I just hope Mack was ready to handle that kind of thing. God knows even the most experienced of us have enough trouble with romance."

"Yes, indeed you do." Spencer met Andrew's suspicious glance with an expression of extreme innocence. "Pray finish the letter, sir."

"Right." Andrew scowled at him before beginning to read again.

"_I also went on my first rescue mission, a fire and collapsed building. No one got hurt too badly, except my arm got cut. Nothing was really damaged but it looked kind of bad, so Tyzonn took me to a plastics lab and they fixed it so it just looks like a regular scar."_

"That sounds as if Master Mack can already use the gift you and Miss Rose have prepared for him, sir," Spencer commented.

"Yes, it does. I thought it would have to wait until he comes back, but since I can send a reply... As soon as I finish reading this, please get the storage capsule from downstairs and I'll include it." Andrew returned to the letter.

"_I guess that's about all for now. Like I said, I hope you and Spencer are fine, and please write. I paid for you to send a nice long letter back. If you talk to Will, Dax, Rose, or Ronny, please tell them I said hi. I miss you, Dad, and I miss you too, Spencer. _

_Well, I'll write again, and see you again before too long, I hope. _

_Love, Mack"_

There was a moment of silence as Andrew read the last three sentences again, and then cleared his throat. There would be time later to go over every word from his son, and to wonder what he was doing now, so far away and in such an alien place. As for now, he had a letter of his own to write before the reptilian mailman went on his way. As Spencer left to get the gift he intended to send to Mack, Andrew opened a drawer, took out a sheet of blank paper, and paused. There was so much to say - and so much not to say. Rose - yes, he'd mention her, but no need to tell everything. No need at all. He adjusted his glasses and began to write.

"_Dear Mack..."_

TBC...


	2. Pas de Deux, part II

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

* * *

**Pas de Deux, part II**

_**November 2008, Mercuria**_

"How many times have you read that book?"

Mack looked up from his seat on the cushions in the living area to see Tyzonn standing in the doorway that led to the rest of the house. He lowered his book - one of the _Baron_ series that he had brought along - and closed it. "A few times. It kind of reminds me of home, you know?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Where's Vella?"

"At home, getting some rest." Tyzonn advanced into the room and sank down to sit cross-legged, watching Mack with his usual open smile. "We have not talked for a long time. I mean, really talked. How are you?"

"Fine, I guess," Mack said, a little uncomfortable under his friend's intent gaze.

"That woman, Strellia, seemed nice. Are you friends?"

"Yeah. Friends." Mack couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

If Tyzonn noticed, he gave no sign. "Good, I'm glad you've made friends here, besides me and Vella, of course. Do you see each other often?"

"Nope." Mack tossed the book down. "Not anymore."

"What happened?"

"Just didn't work out. We're from two different worlds, literally, and I found out the hard way that Mercurians seem to have a lot of different attitudes about romance from what I'm used to." He made a rueful face. "You guys seem to be very casual about it."

Tyzonn seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "You wanted more from the relationship than she did?"

"Yeah, that's about the size of it," Mack muttered, looked at the floor.

"Mack." When he looked up again, Tyzonn was still fixing him with that direct stare. "You've been lonely and unhappy, and you've had no one to talk to about your problems. Perhaps that's why this happened. It's my fault; I brought you to this planet and then left you alone so I could spend time with Vella. That wasn't fair."

"No, it's okay." Mack put a smile on his face. "You and Vella were separated for years. You thought she was dead. It's only natural that you want to be together as much as possible."

"But I wouldn't have Vella again if not for you and the others. Back on Earth, you were my friend even when I looked like a monster and fought for Moltor. I needed you then, and you need me now. I'm responsible for you, not just to keep you safe but to make sure you're happy."

"Thanks," Mack said around the lump that had appeared in his throat because of the kind words that both cheered him and made him realize just how lonely he really was. "Maybe you're right, and it was more about me wanting to have someone, like you and Vella have each other, than about me really wanting Strellia. I've been homesick, I guess. But there's other stuff that you couldn't help with anyway."

"Like what?"

"Well... Like with Strellia, when she said we were just friends - I wondered if it was because I'm an android. I don't really think that's the reason, but I still thought about it. The thing is... I'm different. Different from everyone here, and from everyone on Earth. No matter how many friends I have, or if I have a girlfriend, or how hard Dad tries, I'm always going to be alone." He looked up at Tyzonn. "Does that make any sense?"

"It does. But I hope you know your being an android makes no difference to me, or to your father, or Spencer, or Rose, Ronny, Will, and Dax."

"Yeah, I know."

"Good. I think in time you'll find even more people you can trust to accept you as you are, and then you won't feel so alone." After a silent moment Tyzonn continued, "We can have dinner together tonight, and talk more. In the meantime, I have something that may cheer you up."

"What?"

With a grin, Tyzonn produced an envelope from his pocket and held it out. "It came today."

"A letter? For me?" Mack grabbed it eagerly, and scanned the return address. "It's from Dad!" he exclaimed, tearing the envelope open and unfolding the pages within. A smaller, folded envelope fell out into his hand, and he opened that to find a tiny plastic capsule which he turned carefully between his fingers, puzzled, before dropping it back in and settling himself into a more comfortable position for reading.

"_Dear Mack, _

_I was very happy to receive your letter. Actually, 'very happy' isn't strong enough. Spencer and I were overjoyed and relieved to know you're safe and doing well, and we hope you're happy too, and enjoying your new life as part of Tyzonn's rescue team. We're glad you've been making new friends there, but sorry to hear things didn't work out with the girl you mentioned. I'm sure you'll meet many others, though."_

"Hah," Mack muttered at that; in the five months since the Strellia Incident, as he had come to think of it, the girls hadn't exactly been beating his door down.

"Mack?" Tyzonn said.

"Nothing."

"_Things here have been getting back to normal. We had the damage to the mansion repaired, and even made a few improvements. I've been working on a new project, too. Actually, Rose and I worked on it together-"_

"Hey, he's seen Rose!"

"It's very nice that your father's keeping in touch with your friends."

Mack gave Tyzonn a quick grin and a nod. "Yeah, it's great to hear about what they're doing now."

He returned to the letter, nodding absently as Tyzonn stood and said, "I'll be back later, after you've finished reading it."

"_Actually, Rose and I worked on it together while she was on summer break from research and teaching at Wernerbridge University..."_

- x -

Andrew could hear Spencer's voice exclaiming, "Miss Rose, how delightful to see you again," even before he got close enough to the front door to see her himself. Delightful was a good word, he decided. Rose looked very happy with a big smile of greeting on her face, and very pretty in jeans and a soft gray sweater with a touch of pink at the neck and wrists. She saw him and ignored his outstretched hand to squeeze him in an enthusiastic hug, bringing with her a hint of perfume and the realization of how much he had missed all of those bright young faces.

"Rose, you look wonderful," he said sincerely as she stepped back.

"You look great too," she said. "Both of you." Rose took a few steps further inside and turned in place as she looked around. "And the mansion seems to be completely repaired! Some new furniture, I see. And a new pool table!"

"A bigger TV," Andrew put in. "A few new video games. Too bad Mack isn't here to play them."

"Yes. You must miss him." She gave him a sympathetic look.

"I do, very much. But at least we settled our differences before he left, and he did promise to come back some day."

"How have you been otherwise? Any new explorations?"

Andrew shrugged with a smile. "It's been pretty busy around here with repairs and so on. I'll get back to it sooner or later."

"Spencer?" Rose asked. "How are you doing?"

"The same as always, Miss. Oh, perhaps a little trouble with my knees now and then, and a twinge in my back, but I manage to survive." With a long-suffering look he continued, "Would you care for something to drink after your trip? Or a snack, perhaps?"

"Well, living in London again I've developed a taste for tea. If you don't mind."

"I never mind making tea for someone with such discerning taste. Sir?"

"Um?" Andrew said. "Oh. Yes, I'll have some tea if you're making it, thanks."

"You're already having a civilizing influence on him, Miss," Spencer murmured as he departed for the kitchen.

Rose took a few more minutes to look around the newly redecorated game, trophy, and living areas before settling down on one of the sofas, facing Andrew. "I feel a little like that first day when you summoned all of us here to recruit us as Rangers," she remarked.

"Meaning you're wondering why I asked you to come."

"I hope it's not trouble again." Rose looked concerned, but her eyes sparkled with suppressed excitement.

"No, nothing like that." Andrew grinned at the flash of disappointment across her face. It seemed that Mack wasn't the only one among his former team with the spirit of adventure. "It's more of a project that I'd like your help with, if you're willing."

"Sounds interesting already. Tell me about it."

Andrew paused as Spencer came in with a tea tray and lowered it to the coffee table, making a show of pouring each of them a cup and serving them with the requested amounts of sugar and milk. There were also enough biscuits, cookies, and pastries piled on a serving plate to make a filling, if unhealthy, meal. He waited for Rose to take a sip and choose a snack before explaining.

"It's for Mack, really. With him away and on his own - well, like any parent, I worry. I hate to even think it, but he could be damaged at some point and not have access to the kind of facilities that could repair him. If such a thing happened I'm sure Tyzonn would bring him here, but it would be better for him to have some ability to self-repair."

"Self-repair. You mean he'd be able to heal, almost like a human?" Rose's eyes were sharp and bright with interest.

"Almost. If my idea works out, he'd recover from injury more quickly and effectively than a living human. He'd still need to come here to take care of any really major damage, but for less serious stuff - he wouldn't need me or Spencer."

"I'm sure he'd like to feel a little more independent from you," Rose said thoughtfully. "No offense."

"None taken. It's Mack's birthday in a couple of months, and this would make a good present. I may not have a way to send it to him, but at least I'd like to have it ready."

"Mack has a birthday?"

"Yes, part of his false memories, and we've celebrated it every year since his creation. It's actually the day he was first activated." Andrew leaned towards her expectantly. "You're the best advanced robotics and electronics expert I know, and I could really use your help."

"What mechanism do you have in mind?" Rose asked.

"Nanorobots. Self-replicating, programmed with Mack's construction templates. They would work at a microscopic level throughout his body, repairing damage almost the way living cells do, by using raw material from the food Mack eats. Normally he just breaks it down chemically for operating energy, but there's no reason the component elements and compounds can't be used too."

"Interesting..." Rose's eyes were glazing over, the same thing Andrew had seen them do before when she was fascinated by a new idea or discovery. "They'd have to be able to move freely through his mechanisms... And they'd have to be able to communicate on a primitive level, maybe just sending a signal from the damage site..."

"So will you do it?" Andrew asked as she trailed off.

Her attention came back to him with a blink. "Well, of course I'll do it. Wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Wonderful! From preliminary research I estimate with you on the team it'll take about two to three months if we don't hit any major snags, so hopefully we'll be done by the time you start your next semester. I'll pay for your time, of course."

"Pay me?" Rose frowned. "This is for Mack. I don't need to be paid and I don't want to be."

"All right. Free room and board here, at least?"

"That I can accept." Rose jumped to her feet. "When do we start?"

- x -

They started that day, even before Rose had unpacked in the same room she had used during Operation Overdrive. By dinnertime the two of them were absorbed in going over Andrew's preliminary designs, with Rose pointing out problems and suggesting a few approaches he hadn't thought of. Spencer prowled around the electronics laboratory in the underground base where Andrew still did much of his work, taking notes, making sure they recorded their modifications, and finally dragging them off to dinner. The meal was just a continuation as they hotly debated the merits of various types of microcircuits and how far they could be miniaturized. When they started back downstairs Spencer put his foot down, insisting that Rose, at least, needed to rest after her long flight.

"I'm fine," Rose insisted. "Just another hour. Maybe two."

But Andrew had taken a close look at her and seen eyes shadowed with fatigue, and he realized she had been hiding yawns for the last couple of hours. "I forgot you flew in from London today," he exclaimed remorsefully. "It must feel like the middle of the night to you." He circled her shoulders with an arm and steered her towards the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. "It's off to bed for you, young lady."

"Not all that young, if I can't take a little sleep deprivation." She yawned again, and smiled. "I guess you guys are right. I'll go quietly. Just don't finish the project without me!"

"Don't worry." Andrew took her hand in one of his and patted it with the other as he continued, "It would take twice as long to do this if not for you, and I'd probably end up with something only half as good. It's great to be working with you again."

She looked around with a happy sigh. "It's great to be back. We had some good times here, all of us, didn't we?"

"We sure did. Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight, Andrew." Her fingers clasped his lightly before she turned and ran up the steps.

- x -

That was only the beginning, of course. The following days were a blur of revisions, modifications, research, and debates over technology and methodology. Andrew found himself relying on Rose's expertise and intellect even more than he had anticipated as the days turned to weeks and they began to build initial components and started their first trial runs...

"Look! It's working!"

He bent to the microscope and looked. The tiny machine was indeed slowly fusing a break in the circuit board they were using as a testing ground. It would have to work faster, of course, and they needed to miniaturize the 'bots a lot further, but it was an important step. "It's looking good," he said, and reached out to shake her hand. "Our first functioning nanobot."

She grinned, but her voice was soft as she asked, "Is this just a little of how you felt when you built Mack?"

He raised his brows, surprised. "A little, I guess, but Mack was an entirely different matter. That was - creating a person. This is about making his life a little better, if I can."

Rose just smiled at him, and touched his hand quickly.

- x -

The work was absorbing, and as they began to get promising results Andrew put himself into it with the same total dedication that had made so many of his projects successful. Rose worked just as hard as he did, impressing him with her energy and commitment. But as weeks became a month, he began to realize that both of them needed a little relaxation once in a while. But in truth, it was Rose who knew it first...

"Have you done something different with your hair, Miss?" Spencer asked as Rose walked into Andrew's study, where he was poring over design specifications.

"Why, yes, Spencer," she answered, sending an arch look at Andrew as she added, "I'm glad someone around here notices something besides machinery."

"Umm?" Andrew looked up. Rose had indeed done something different. Gone were the pigtails or ponytail he was used to seeing; her hair had been trimmed and pulled back by two clips to fall in loose waves behind her ears. She was also wearing a dress, and a very pretty one. "You look nice, Rose. What's the occasion?"

"I was hoping to drag you away from your computer for a couple of hours. How about the three of us go into town and catch a movie?"

"A movie?"

"Yes. You know, when they project a moving image onto a screen in front of a bunch of people." She was trying to keep a straight face, but unsuccessfully holding back a grin.

Andrew sat back in his chair, smiling. "Oh, right, I think I've heard of something like that. I guess we could use a break. Spencer?"

"Oh, no, sir. If the two of you are off for the evening, that is quite enough relaxation for me."

"If you insist. Okay, Rose, what would you like to see?"

- x -

It wasn't until another week or so had passed that he began to realize how much he was enjoying himself, and how much Rose was a part of it. The intensity of the work, the realization of what they were achieving; it was as exciting and at the same time as quietly fulfilling as any time he could remember. And whether he quite wanted to admit it yet or not, there was starting to be another element...

It was late, very late, and Andrew tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn as he rode down to the underground base in the elevator, too tired to take the stairs. Just one quick look at what their latest batch of 'bots was up to, he promised himself, and then a good night's sleep.

He wasn't the only one. Andrew stopped short as he stepped out, shaking his head with a smile as he saw a small, dark-haired form slumped over their main console. Rose seemed to be sound asleep, her head pillowed on crossed arms, a few papers and printouts peeping from underneath. Quietly, Andrew moved closer and stood over her, looking down and pausing in mid-motion as he reached out to wake her with a touch on the shoulder.

Rose was putting so much into this, so much drive and energy and focus, so much denial of anything else in her life. For a moment he felt a twinge of guilt. But it was in her nature, he knew that; it was the same dedication that had made her a respected innovator in the field of robotics even at her young age. And it wasn't as if she denied any need for relaxation, the way she had at the beginning of Overdrive. Still - maybe he should start insisting that they get out more, take a little more time off from work. The way they were going, they would still finish ahead of schedule.

A lock of hair had come loose and fallen over her cheek and nose. Instead of waking her, Andrew lifted and smoothed it back, watching as she stirred slightly and sighed in her sleep. Rose had such intensity; he could almost see it even now, in such a quiet moment. He recognized it; in some ways she was a lot like him: the same drive for accomplishment, the same neglect of that side of life that was less glamorous but no less real and valuable. All that had been supposed to change for him when Mack came into his life - but somehow it hadn't happened. But - now - the thought came to him that he might be content to settle down just a little, to find life at home more satisfying, if that life included someone as intellectually and personally challenging as Rose. That could be an adventure all in itself.

She twitched, her breathing quickened, and her eyes opened.

"Andrew?" Rose blinked up at him, her gaze still bleary with sleep.

"Yeah. You fell asleep."

"I guess I did. Just meant to close my eyes for a minute." She sat up and yawned.

"You've been working too hard. You don't have to do this all by yourself, you know."

Rose shrugged. "I like working hard. Besides..." Her eyes lifted to his. "I want to do a good job."

"You're already doing more than I could possibly expect." Andrew smiled and again reached out to smooth back that strand of rebellious hair.

"Am I?" Rose was still looking into his face, seeming to watch for some reaction, he wasn't sure what. "I guess - I guess I want to impress you."

"You have." Andrew took her hand, pulled her to her feet, and turned her towards the elevator with his hands on her shoulders. "Now you can impress me more by getting yourself to bed and getting some proper sleep."

"Yes, sir." Rose sketched a smiling salute as she reached the elevator and stepped inside.

- x -

Maybe that was when it began; looking back, he wasn't sure. He didn't remember when it started; when his friendly and vaguely paternal feelings began to change into something he avoided admitting even to himself. Perhaps it was when they began to stray from the topics of electronics and automation into music, poetry, books, and theatre, and he was both amused and intrigued by her knowledge and taste. Certainly it continued when they began to make a habit of going out once a week to dinner and a concert, a play, a movie, or a museum, as a well-earned break...

"Wait. Look, isn't it beautiful?"

Rose's voice and her hand on his arm stopped Andrew between the car and the house. They had stayed in town late this night, for dinner and the opera - that had been Rose's idea, but Andrew had found himself enjoying the performance more than he had expected. Now, music still seemed to echo pleasantly inside his head as he stood beside her and looked up. It was an unusually cool night for summer, and an unusually clear one. The lights of San Angeles were distant enough for them to see an impressive number of stars twinkling in the darkness of a moonless sky.

"Yes, it is beautiful," he said. "Someday we should go someplace where you can really see the stars - the desert, or the mountains, far from any artificial lighting. The sky is covered with them, like a billion tiny, sparkling diamonds on black velvet. You can even see the color of some of them."

She took his arm. "It sounds amazing. I'd like to see that, very much."

"Sometimes I wonder which one is Mercuria's sun. Which one is the sun in Mack's sky."

"Right there." Rose pointed, leaning distractingly close. "Tyzonn showed me once; it's near Orion's Belt. You can't see it with the naked eye, I'm afraid."

"Might have known you'd know that." Andrew chuckled and looked down into Rose's face, so close in the darkness and solitude of the night. He felt a shiver go through her. "Are you cold?"

"No. I'm fine." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"We should be getting inside." He was acutely aware of the pressure of her arm still linked with his as they started for the door.

- x -

Whenever it started, however it continued, it happened slowly, during the weeks and months of working together so closely and constantly that they seemed at times to share one mind, sometime during so many dinners spent looking into Rose's smiling eyes and hearing her laughter at some comment he had made, at odd moments while he was coming to the conclusion that black hair, dark brown eyes, and smooth olive skin were amazingly attractive qualities in a woman. He was forced to suspect it when he caught himself one morning looking in the mirror and thinking he needed to lose a few pounds and get in better shape - and he could no longer deny it when the thought of people looking at them and wondering whether Rose was his mistress or his daughter stopped being funny.

It was ridiculous, of course, but seemed harmless enough. Rose was a very intelligent, very lively, very pretty girl; he was a reasonably healthy heterosexual man; they were spending almost every waking minute together working on something important to both of them. It was only natural and normal to feel an attraction - as long as it stayed strictly in the realm of fantasy. Anything more was out of the question. She was half his age, a teenager, and living in his house, under his protection.

"Andrew?"

He looked up to see Rose across the dinner table, her lips quirked into a half-smile. "I'm sorry," he replied. "Were you saying something?"

"Just wondering where you are tonight. You seem distracted."

Andrew looked down at his plate and laid down the fork he had been holding in midair for the last few minutes. "Just tired, I guess. We've been pushing pretty hard."

"We're almost there." Her eyes brightened. "Just a little fine-tuning, and then final testing. I can't wait."

"You always did love finishing a project."

"Yes. I love the feeling of accomplishment when everything is done, when everything has really come together like this has."

"And with everything done, you'll be able to go back to London a week or two early if you want." Andrew frowned at his own feeling of dismay.

A little of Rose's enthusiasm seemed to fade, or was that only his imagination? She picked at her food for a moment before saying, "The nanobots could always use extra testing. We don't want anything to go wrong, not when we're dealing with Mack's health."

"True. I could extend the testing myself, but if you're willing to stay..."

"Of course." She was all smiles again. "Besides, maybe we could relax a little too. Take a couple of days off and - I don't know, hop into the SHARC and fly to Paris or Rome or Rio."

"Just hop in and take off, huh?" Andrew chuckled.

"Sure, why not? We used to do it all the time, only you never came with us. You designed and built the SHARC; you should use it."

"It was meant for you, for the team. Meant for a purpose that's over."

"No reason it can't be used for fun now," Rose answered in a coaxing tone.

"Fun." Andrew turned his water glass in his fingers, staring into its depths. "I can remember when you didn't much care for fun."

"Maybe you - and the others, of course - taught me there's another side to life." When Andrew looked up Rose was watching him, leaning forward slightly, an expression he couldn't quite read on her face. "I think it would be a lot of fun to just take off somewhere - anywhere - with you."

For a petrified moment he wondered if she knew how he felt, and even more improbably whether she felt the same way. Then Spencer saved him from coming up with an answer by entering the room bearing two fluted glasses on a serving tray. He glanced at both of them sharply, cleared his throat, and said, "Pardon me for interrupting your conversation, Sir and Miss. Chocolate mousse?"

- x -

"Well? How does it look?" Rose's voice was eager. She leaned on Andrew's shoulder as he bent over the microscope.

"Hang on, let me finish..." Andrew fixed his attention back on the intricate machine he was examining.

In order to test the nanorobots in a realistic setting, they had manufactured structures based on Mack's design - the same design the nanobots were programmed to repair. This was their most advanced trial yet, the one they had agreed would prove the project was a success - or not. For it they had used a knee joint - built it with painstaking care, deliberately smashed the delicate mechanisms, and released a small number of nanobots into it. That last stage had been three days before. Now, after a wait that had felt like eons, they would see the results.

"Wow," he breathed, and looked again, searching for some sign of damage. Every part, every component of the humanoid joint seemed to be intact. The plastic 'skin' they had cut open had sealed up without a mark, and he had no doubt the small hole he had made for his examination would close up within a few hours. He moved from the microscope to the x-rays they had taken a few minutes before. It all pointed to the same conclusion.

"It's perfect."

"I knew it!" Rose exclaimed. "Let me look!"

"Go ahead." Laughing at her excitement, Andrew got up to let her bend and put her eye to the viewer.

"You're right, it's perfect." Rose straightened and looked up at him, eyes shining. "Congratulations, Andrew, you did it!"

"Congratulations to both of us. I couldn't have done it without you."

Impulsively, Andrew put an arm around her shoulders for a hug that he intended to be no more than friendly. But Rose turned into the embrace, her arms lifting and going around his neck, her body suddenly much too close. For a breathless moment he stared down into her face, her eyes locked on his, only inches between them until her fingers tightened in his hair and pulled him down. Their lips met, and hers were soft and warm and sent a shock through him of the kind of desire he had thought never to feel again, and then he was crushing her in his arms, not knowing or caring about anything but her body against him and her mouth opening under his...

Until a cold thread of reality and sanity invaded his mind, and he lifted his head to look at her: eyes half closed and lips still parted. Abruptly Andrew let go and stepped back, struggling to keep the shock and dismay he felt off his face.

"Andrew?" she said uncertainly.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It was more my idea than yours. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He gave a mirthless snort of laughter. "That was completely inappropriate." He held up a hand as she started to protest. "It was my fault, not yours. Entirely my fault."

"Why does it have to be anybody's 'fault'?" Rose came closer and then stopped as Andrew retreated another step, her expression a painful mix of eagerness and sudden doubt and anxiety that seemed to stab through his heart. "I thought - I thought we were getting to be - close. I thought maybe you felt the same way I do."

"We _are_ close, Rose. But not in that way."

She took another step, eyes searching his face. "You kissed me back; you can't pretend you didn't."

He avoided looking at her. "You're a beautiful girl. Any man would want to kiss you."

"Then why not? We're so perfect for each other..."

"It's out of the question. I'm old enough to be your father. You've just got a - a teenaged crush on an older man."

"A teenaged _crush_?" Outrage chased the hurt of rejection from her for a moment. "Oh, please, I'm not a child. I haven't been a child since I was eight and started taking accelerated classes with people five years older than I was. All my life I've had to grow up fast, and I've done a good job of it."

He smiled faintly. "I know. But being a genius doesn't make you emotionally mature."

"True. But I'm nineteen, twenty next month. I teach at university level, and I'm finishing my PhD. I can vote, live on my own, enlist in the military if I want. I'm an adult by almost any standard."

"You're half my age."

"What difference does that make if we - if we care for each other?"

"It makes a great deal of difference."

"_Why?_" She was close enough now that he couldn't avoid looking at her and seeing the pain that filled her eyes, and listening to the words that spilled from her in a desperate rush. "I'm smart, Andrew. I'm _very_ smart. If anyone would know what that's like, you should. I can't even _talk_ to most people, normal people, not about the things I care about most. I'm a freak, and I accepted that a long time ago so don't tell me I'm not. But with you - I can talk to you, and you understand me - you don't get weirded out by how much I know; you don't resent me for the things I can do; you respect and appreciate my abilities. I've never felt so - so comfortable with anyone in my whole life. That's what I like - what I love about you." Rose stopped suddenly, as if she had just realized what she had said.

Andrew sighed as dejection settled over him. "I'm sorry, Rose, but it wouldn't work."

"Why? Why not? Can you look at me and tell me you don't want me?"

He looked, the words of denial on his lips, and found they wouldn't come. All he could manage was, "What I want doesn't matter. It wouldn't be fair to you. Whether you admit it or not, you're very young, and you've had very little time for a social life. Someday soon you'll meet someone closer to your own age, and wonder what you ever saw in me."

"Are you worried about me or yourself?" She stared at him, the way her eyes turned closed and distant sending another pang through his heart. "All right, I get the picture. Don't worry; I won't bother you again with my teenaged fantasies. Maybe it's just as well the project is finished. I can move my flight up and leave tomorrow."

"If that's what you want," Andrew muttered.

"Haven't you heard? You can't always get what you want." Without a backwards glance Rose headed for the stairs leading up to the house, leaving him with only the echo of her footsteps and the faint sound of a sob as she disappeared.

"No, you certainly can't," he whispered.

- x -

Their goodbyes were a sad contrast to the enthusiastic greetings of only three months before, Andrew thought gloomily as he shook hands with Rose at the front door of the mansion. Amazing how much could change in so little time. At least she had sent Spencer to tell him she was leaving; he felt grateful for that much.

"Goodbye," Rose was saying. "Thanks for the opportunity to work on such a fascinating project. And thanks for your hospitality." She hesitated just a little, her eyes ducking away as she added, "If anything goes wrong, or - or if you want my help again, just call."

"I'll do that." Andrew stuffed his hands in his pockets and searched for something to say that might ease the discomfort for both of them. "Thanks again for all your hard work. It was really great having you here again."

"Well. My cab's waiting; I'd better get going."

"Have a safe and enjoyable flight, Miss," Spencer said, taking her hand between his for a moment.

"Thank you, Spencer, for everything." Rose smiled and leaned forward to kiss the elderly butler on the cheek, to his evident embarrassment.

Andrew looked away, and busied himself with picking up the larger of Rose's suitcases and leading the way outside. In what seemed to be only instants, he and Spencer were waving as the taxi started off, reached the end of the long, curved driveway, and turned onto the street.

"We will miss her presence in the house, won't we, sir?" Spencer asked.

"We certainly will," Andrew said. He sighed, feeling the weight of every one of his forty years pulling him down into dullness. He half expected Spencer to say something, or question him, but his old friend only gave him a sympathetic and understanding glance before starting back inside. Andrew stayed where he was for a time, staring down the street to where the cab had gone out of sight.

- x -

"_Rose and I developed a way for you to repair yourself if you're damaged in the future. We built a set of nanorobots, microscopic machines programmed with your designs, which will be able to rebuild any of your mechanisms from the inside. It's really a way for you to heal, like a human, only in most cases more quickly and completely. They're in the plastic capsule I enclosed with this letter, in a small envelope. All you have to do is swallow it, just like taking a pill, and your food-processing system will release the nanobots. They're self-replicating, so once in your system they will remain permanently. _

_It's meant to be a birthday present, son, but the 'bots are in a stable condition inside the capsule, so you could take it at any time in case you'd rather wait. Either way, Happy Birthday! _

_Other than that, Spencer and I have been doing well. I'm glad your letter came when it did; in a few weeks I'll be leaving the mansion, probably for several months at least. I've been asked to participate in the development of Ranger technology for an outfit you may have heard of, called S.P.D. It's located not too far from here, in Newtech City, and I'll be working with a small group of other scientists and technicians who have supported past Ranger teams. It sounds like a very interesting and worthwhile project. _

_I guess there's not much more to say, except that I miss you very much and hope you're finding some of the answers I know you're looking for. Spencer sends his love, and so do I. _

_Much love, _

_Dad"_

Mack was holding the capsule and re-reading the letter when Tyzonn returned. He looked up, smiling.

"Good news?" Tyzonn asked.

"Yes. Everyone's fine, and Dad worked with Rose all last summer."

"What were they working on?"

"This. It's a birthday present." Mack held up the capsule. After Tyzonn had leaned forward for a closer look, he dropped it into his mouth and swallowed.

"Do people usually give each other pills on their birthdays on Earth?"

Mack laughed at Ty's expression of blank puzzlement. "No, not usually. But this is a special pill. Come on, I'll tell you all about it over dinner." He climbed to his feet and stretched.

"Perhaps I have a birthday present for you as well - if you like the news I have to tell you," Tyzonn said as they stepped out of the house and started for the street. "We're going on a mission off-world." He grinned at Mack's reaction of surprise. "I promised you adventure on other planets, and now it's finally going to happen."

"Off-world? Where?"

"It's a planet that was once conquered by Dark Specter. The population fled, but they returned after the Dark Forces were defeated, almost ten years ago. They've been rebuilding as quickly as they can, but they have limited resources, as you can imagine. Now they've discovered a powerful energy source still operating under the wreckage in their main city. They're sending in a team to recover it, and have requested a search and rescue team for help and backup in case they run into trouble."

His mood brightening at the thought of a new world and a new challenge, Mack asked, "What's the name of the planet?"

"KO-35, in the Karova system. We leave as soon as I can make arrangements and collect the equipment we'll need."

"Cool," Mack said, and stopped short as a memory of something Strellia had said came to him. "Weren't there Rangers on KO-35?"

"There were, and I understand they've returned to assist with this situation. They're going to be the ones making the attempt to recover the energy source."

Mack grinned. "A new planet, and another Ranger team. _Way_ cool!"

TBC...


	3. Outside Looking In, part I

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

* * *

**Outside Looking In, part I**

_**May 2009, Newtech City**_

The second letter came almost eight months after the first.

Andrew was out alone on the testing track behind the S.P.D. building, partly to look for any stray fragments of the Deltacycle that had been their latest casualty of testing, and partly just to get away by himself and take a little time to think. He stood, scanning up and down the track, noticing the deep gouges where the 'cycle had torn up the ground before coming apart. They were just lucky that Nick Tate hadn't been hurt beyond a few bruises - bruises he wouldn't have if his suit had functioned properly.

Andrew sighed. Why did it seem that nothing was going right? Was he expecting too much? Or... was it something else? Or more accurately, some_one_ else? The last person he wanted to ask for help - and yet the person who seemed always to be first in his thoughts.

The tap on his shoulder was so unexpected and startling that Andrew jumped and turned quickly enough to almost lose his balance, falling back another few steps as he saw the person who had touched him. He got his surprise, and his quickened breathing, under control - aliens were far from unknown around S.P.D. after all, although they rarely appeared outside the more secure areas of the main building undisguised.

This one would look human from a distance, though. He was about Andrew's height, but thin and somehow delicate looking, with long-fingered hands and pale, transparent-looking skin. The only unmistakably alien feature was his hair, or lack of it - his head was covered with fine, downy white and gray feathers. He was wearing a dark gray jumpsuit with an asymmetrical design in light gray and the insignia 'SPD' on one shoulder - on second glance it was sleeveless; his arms were covered with a layer of the same gray feathers.

"Sorry," the man said in a quick, clipped voice, his head nodding in a startlingly bird-like motion.

"It's all right. I just didn't hear you coming," Andrew answered with a hesitant smile. "Excuse me, but I haven't seen you here before."

"Not surprising. I am courier. Just arrived. You are Andrew Hartford?"

"Yes, I am."

"I have letter for you." With a quick gesture, the feathered man pulled an envelope from a small pouch attached to his belt and held it out.

"A letter?" Andrew took it eagerly, first looking for the return address:

_Mack Hartford  
Astro Megaship_

He raised his brows at both the unfamiliarity and the brevity, but it was from Mack and that was all that mattered. Next he noticed that it was addressed to him care of S.P.D. Earth Base. "Mack sent this through S.P.D?" he asked.

"Many bases. On many worlds. Letter sent from one of them."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. I go now." The man stepped back.

"Wait!" Andrew exclaimed. "Can I send a reply back?"

"Give reply to Dr. Manx. I go."

The man spread his arms out to the sides, and Andrew watched in amazement as longer, silky feathers fanned out from their undersides, expanding into broad wings. With a powerful spring, the man leaped into the air and swooped away, circling overhead once and then flying over the S.P.D. building before disappearing into the sky.

"People come and go so quickly around here," Andrew said, shaking his head. But a mere bird-man couldn't distract him from his letter, especially when it had been so long since he had heard from Mack. With a grin at himself for being unable to wait even the few minutes it would take to return to his office, he took a seat on a convenient rock outcropping near the track and opened the letter.

"_Dear Dad, _

_I hope you and Spencer are fine. Thanks for the birthday gift, it's really great! I took the pill and the next day the scar from when my arm was cut was gone. Thanks again, and be sure to thank Rose for me too. _

_Also thanks for the letter. It's really great to hear from home. Sometimes out here I feel like Earth is so far away, so it's nice to know what's going on there and that you're working on something new. _

_Speaking of that, I sent this letter through S.P.D. since my new friends were able to contact them. That's kind of a long story. I went to a planet called KO-35 with Tyzonn and Vella, and I ended up with a new team. And guess what, they're Rangers..._

- x -

"This area seems undamaged," Tyzonn remarked as they walked through the streets of Karova City on KO-35.

"This is the outskirts of the city. There was little fighting here in the invasion or the war," explained their guide, Kinwon, whose angular intensity belied his white hair and wrinkles. "Other parts were not so lucky, as you will see soon enough."

Mack trailed behind Tyzonn and Vella, looking at the city around them and trying to take in as much as he could. As it turned out, the three of them had been the only ones who had chosen to leave Mercuria for this mission, which promised to last several weeks - they had decided to not only help with the recovery of a power source sealed inside a damaged building but to stay and help with the general reconstruction efforts for a time.

After landing only half an hour ago in a spaceport just outside the city, they had left their ship to greet the local authorities and be given this tour by Kinwon, one of the planetary leaders. So far he had to agree with Ty: this seemed like a beautiful and peaceful world that had never seen war and destruction. They had passed parks that were obviously well cared for, seen graceful buildings behind green lawns, and were walking down a wide street passing people who appeared happy and nodded to them pleasantly. They appeared perfectly human - and in fact they were, as Tyzonn had explained, although not directly from Earth.

Their peaceful surroundings began to change as they turned a corner and headed into what appeared to be a more central section, with higher buildings and no longer any room for gardens or lawns. And instead of the traffic increasing, it began to die away even as they started to see a crumbling wall here, a burned-out building there, the scars left by blaster and projectile fire. They saw no rubble, and frequently construction sites where a damaged building had been torn down and was being rebuilt. But then even those disappeared, and soon they were walking through a landscape of desolation and ruin, softened only slightly by more than ten years' growth of grass, weeds, and vines. None of them spoke as they moved farther into what had obviously been the scene of heavy and desperate battle.

As they turned another corner Mack caught sight of another group of people, standing near what had once been a particularly large and important-looking building at the end of the street they were now walking down. An impressive stone façade remained intact, but behind it much of the structure had collapsed.

Kinwon stopped them, and waved a hand around at the destruction. "Our beautiful city, our colony," he said grimly. "Someday new buildings, a entire new city, will stand here to prove that the evil of Dark Specter could not overcome us. But in the meantime..." He pointed to the building. "Our Research Center, or what remains of it. This is where our Power Ranger program was conducted. It was a primary target during the invasion, with the results you see. And this is where we need your help."

"This is where the power source you need to recover is located?" Tyzonn asked.

"Yes, the Source. It's a generator based on a microscopic captive black hole. It supplied power for the Center, and made the Ranger program possible. It's located deep in the underground complex underneath the building you see. The importance of recovering it is twofold: it would be invaluable in our reconstruction efforts - and more importantly, if it is damaged or becomes unstable through lack of normal maintenance it will explode with the force of a small nuclear weapon." He paused for a moment, smiling bleakly at their expressions. "That's why we can't simply demolish the building. As long as the Source is down there unprotected this entire city is sitting on a time bomb, almost literally."

"I see," Tyzonn said slowly. "Then we must act quickly. We need to meet with the team who will do the recovery."

"Come this way." Kinwon swept an arm towards the small group of people who were still in conversation in front of the building and led the rescue team towards them.

He stopped a few steps away and cleared his throat, finally attracting the attention of the six, who had been absorbed in their own conversation - not an entirely friendly one, Mack assumed by the hint of raised voices he had caught. They turned, and one - a man with a serious expression whose long brown hair had the thick lighter streaks that Mack had noticed on several Karovians - moved forward to stand a step in front of his companions. They were all wearing uniforms of some kind, five of them in light gray, with insignia on waist-length jackets and for each a different-colored shirt underneath. The sixth was wearing the same design, but in black with a silver-gray shirt. They all appeared to be in their late twenties or very early thirties - and they looked oddly familiar.

"Hello, Kinwon," the man said, eying the rescue team.

"Andros, this is the backup team we've requested from Mercuria." Kinwon indicated each of them. "Tyzonn, Vella, and Mackenzie Hartford, from Earth."

The name triggered the memory. "You guys were the Space Rangers, right?" Mack exclaimed. "You stopped the invasion by Astronema ten years ago."

"Yeah, that's us," a pretty Asian woman said. "I wasn't expecting to see another Earth human here."

"That's kind of a long story."

"I'll bet." A tall Black man leaned past Andros to hold out his hand. "We're from Earth too. Hi, I'm Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson, but you can call me T.J."

"That's a relief," Mack said with a grin. "And all of you can call me Mack."

"Cassie Chan," the woman who had spoken said, shaking his hand firmly and nodding to Tyzonn and Vella.

A handsome Hispanic man introduced himself next as: "Carlos Vallerte. Nice to meet all of you."

Another pretty woman, this time with light brown hair, smiled at them. "I'm Ashley Hammond, and this is Zhane," she said, nudging the sixth, a man with hair so blond it was almost white.

"A pleasure," Zhane said, grinning at all of them.

"You are the team who will be doing the recovery?" Tyzonn asked.

Their new acquaintances exchanged glances, and T.J. said firmly, "Yes."

"We were told you would be Karovians. Karovian Rangers."

"_We_ are Karovians," Andros said, indicating Zhane. "The other members of our team are from Earth. And that's why only the two of us are going in after that power source."

"But we're all Rangers," Ashley said. "Which is why we stick together, and why we're all going."

"Ashley, we've been through this..."

"None of us agreed to let the two of you go alone," Cassie said.

"This is our planet, and our responsibility," Zhane argued.

"And you're our teammates-" came from Carlos.

"You're going to need our help-" from T.J.

"I won't let you risk your lives when-"

"We're going with you, and that's-"

"All right, that's enough!" Andros said, loudly enough to silence them all. "I'm still team leader, and I'm still making the decisions. I know you don't like it, but Zhane and I are going alone." He held up his hand as the others started to protest again. "Sorry, but that's the way it's going to be. It's the logical choice anyway; if Zhane and I fail, the rest of you will have to try."

The others didn't like it, Mack could tell, but one by one they nodded reluctantly. Ashley appeared to be the most upset, her eyes fixed on Andros, but she seemed to steel herself with a deep breath and said nothing.

"Okay," Andros said more quietly. "We'll go in as soon as we've finished surveying the building and finding a clear way in."

"We can help with that," Tyzonn said. "Evaluating danger, finding the safest path in and out - that's our job."

Fifteen minutes later Tyzonn, Vella, Andros, Zhane, and Kinwon had their heads together over a pile of photographs, diagrams, instruments, and printouts. Mack lacked the training to be of any real help and found himself watching from a little distance away, along with Ashley, Cassie, Carlos, and T.J.

It was a little intimidating, standing near these people who had been Rangers several years before he had been created, especially when they were so silent and obviously wrapped up in unpleasant thoughts. Ashley especially - he followed her gaze to see she was looking at Andros, and glanced down to notice the fingers of her right hand were twisting a gold band on her left third finger.

It was a relief when Carlos apparently decided to break the tension by leaning closer and asking, "Mack - maybe now's a good time for your story, if you don't mind telling it."

"Yeah, how'd you get to be part of a Mercurian rescue team?" T.J. asked.

"Should I start with how I met Tyzonn, or with how I got to be a Ranger?"

"You're a Ranger?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, Ty and I were in Operation Overdrive. He gave back his morpher, but I kept my Tracker, just in case." Mack touched it automatically - still in its place on his belt.

"One of the new teams, right?" T.J. said.

"Not so new anymore." A thought struck Mack. "Hey, you guys know Adam Park? He was from around your time."

That got even Ashley's attention, as she turned to stare at him and asked, "You've met Adam?"

"Told you it's a long story." Mack grinned.

- x -

It took another day before Andros, Zhane, Tyzonn, and Vella decided they had made all the necessary preparations. Ashley had stayed close to Andros, but Mack, T.J., Carlos, and Cassie had found themselves at loose ends for much of that time, and had spent it seeing more of Karova City, getting better acquainted, and finding they had more in common than being Rangers - Mack's new friends were from Angel Grove in California, not far from San Angeles. He found himself very much liking Cassie's keen perception and sometimes sharp-edged wit, T.J.'s quick mind and relaxed confidence, and Carlos' quiet friendliness and equally quiet technical knowledge; and wishing they would not be parting in only a few weeks.

Now, he nodded and smiled at them in greeting, but their attention was obviously all for their two teammates, the ones who would be going into danger. The group was just inside the outer doors of the Research Building. At the back of the darkened, dusty, and gloomy lobby, Mack could see a patch of greater darkness that he knew was the door into the interior, leading down to the lower level where the energy source was located.

"You'll morph before you go inside, just in case," Tyzonn was saying. He held up two pouches on shoulder straps with one hand. "This should be everything you'll need: rope, grappling hooks, flashlights, cutting torches. We don't know what kind of obstructions you'll encounter." In the other hand he had two small medallions on thin loops. "You'll wear these transmission units around your necks. They'll let us see and hear everything that's going on."

"Understood," Andros said. Zhane nodded.

Their teammates moved in for handshakes, pats on the shoulder, a few words of encouragement. Ashley drew Andros aside, where they stood with fingers interlaced, speaking softly to each other. Mack watched, and then looked away, feeling like an intruder as Ashley took Andros' face between her hands and kissed him.

Finally, Andros and Zhane stood side by side as the others moved back to give them room. They exchanged a glance. "Ready?" Andros asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Zhane's usually confident smile seemed a little subdued this time.

They both raised their hands in front of them and flipped open the top of their wrist morphers. "Then, let's-"

"Hold it!"

The voice was a woman's, and it seemed to freeze all of the Space Rangers in place for a moment before they turned to look for its source. She stepped from the sunlight outside the outer door, her blonde hair catching its glow before she moved into the shadows to join them. She was tall, very slim, the almost girlish prettiness of her face belied by the snap of her eyes as she said, "I hope the two of you didn't think you were going to do this without me."

"Karone!" Andros and Zhane exclaimed in harmony.

"Yes. Nice of you to remember me now, after you seem to have forgotten to inform me about this situation."

"We thought you were on Mirinoi," Andros said.

"Right," Zhane added, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We figured that was more important to you than anything on KO-35."

"Really? More important than helping my own people when they're in trouble?" Her voice was soft, but with a dangerous edge.

"That didn't seem like a priority to you ten years ago," Zhane responded.

"You know perfectly well why I didn't stay back then! Just because you're not interested in helping anyone outside KO-35 doesn't meant I didn't have other responsibilities!"

"And apparently none to us--"

Andros interrupted him. "Zhane, cut it out. Karone, we've already decided that only the two of us are going in."

"Not anymore." Karone advanced and took her place beside them. "I'm a Karovian just as much as you are. I'm going with you, and _don't_ try to stop me."

"Whoa," Zhane said mockingly. "I think I can see a little Astronema in you right now."

"You should be very glad I'm _not_ Astronema right now!"

"Both of you, stop it!" Andros said sharply. "Karone, the two of us can handle it. All our plans are made. I'm glad you're here, but without Ranger powers it's too dangerous for you."

"I can still call on the pink Quasar Saber when necessary, and use the Galaxy powers." Karone held up her arm, revealing a morpher on her wrist. Her expression and voice softened. "I have as much right to risk my neck as the two of you. This is my home world and these are my people. Let me help, please."

Mack could see Andros' decision even before he said it, even before he looked at Zhane, who frowned but nodded slightly.

"All right. And - thanks for coming."

T.J., Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie had told Mack how they had joined up with Andros on his spaceship, the Astro Megaship, through a set of improbable-sounding circumstances. They had told him how Zhane, Andros' closest friend, had become their sixth Ranger. No one had mentioned Karone. Mack managed to restrain his curiosity as the three of them morphed into Ranger suits that were the same in basic design as his, but different in detail and decoration. He stayed silent as they took their equipment from Tyzonn, turned, and one by one disappeared through the back doorway into the building interior. And he waited as all of the group left behind turned their attention to the monitor Tyzonn and Vella had set up to keep track of their progress.

An image appeared, whirled dizzyingly, and settled into a moving view down a long stairway, harshly lit by flashlight and disappearing into darkness. "_We're descending into the lower level,"_ Andros' voice informed them. "_No sign of danger so far."_

Cassie was standing with Ashley near the screen, a reassuring hand on her shoulder. T.J. and Carlos were farther back, and Mack went to join them. As nothing more happened for a few seconds, he asked in a low voice, "What was that all about? Who's Karone? And what's she got to do with Astronema?"

"Talk about your long stories," T.J. muttered. "The fast version is that Karone is Andros' sister - but she was kidnapped as a child and brainwashed into becoming our worst enemy, Astronema, years ago."

"Wow. But I guess she reformed?"

"Yeah, after she found out who she really was, and finally got free of Dark Specter's control," Carlos answered.

The scene on the viewscreen had changed - it now showed a flat surface which Mack recognized after a few moments as a closed metal door.

"_We're on the level where the Source was kept,"_ Andros' voice reported. "_The security system seems to still be working, but Zhane and I are inputting our codes."_ There was a pause and a thump. "_It's stuck!"_

"Careful," Tyzonn said. "No blasters, the impact could start another collapse."

"_Can we use the torches to cut it open?"_ Zhane asked.

"_That could trigger a defense, if that circuitry is still working too,"_ Andros answered. "_We'll have to get it open the old-fashioned way."_

"_If you two push, and I try to pry it open with my saber..."_ Karone said.

"_Right. On my signal."_

There was a shrill creaking as the view slowly changed again to show a short corridor opening into a larger space littered with dust and debris. "_We're through,"_ Andros' voice said. "_Good work, guys."_

Mack let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding, and sighed before resuming their conversation. "Is that why Zhane seemed kind of mad at Karone? Because she was Astronema?" he asked.

"No," Carlos told him. "Actually, Karone and Zhane had a thing going, even while she was still Astronema. They were together after Dark Specter was defeated - until Karone found out the Galaxy Rangers were in trouble after their Pink Ranger was killed and the pink Quasar Saber was stolen. She figured she could pretend to be Astronema again and get the Saber back - and it worked - but then she was offered the chance to become their new Pink Ranger."

"And? That was a problem?"

T.J. took up the story. "It was to Zhane. KO-35 is his home, and he's very loyal to it and to the people here. He never stays away for long. Karone went to live on Terra Venture with her team; he wouldn't leave to join her, and he thought she had run out on him and on her own people. It turned out she only needed to be gone for a few months - but by the time the Galaxy Rangers defeated their enemies and gave up their powers, Zhane and Karone had split up."

"_We're getting close,"_ Andros said through the monitor. "_We're seeing more destruction here." _It was hard to make out the picture on the screen, but Mack got flashes of a circle of thick round columns that appeared to be made of stone or marble, some of them leaning inward or crumbling.

"I guess the last time they saw each other was seven years ago, at Ashley and Andros' wedding," Carlos continued. "They weren't even speaking to each other."

"They're still in love." Cassie's voice came from beside Mack.

T.J. snorted. "After all this time?"

"You heard them before. They wouldn't have been tearing each other new ones if they didn't still love each other."

"You have an interesting idea of love." T.J. smirked.

"No, Cassie's an expert on carrying a torch," Carlos said. "Right, Cass? How long has it been since you heard from the Phan- Ow!" With an aggrieved expression he rubbed his shoulder where she had punched it.

"That's right!" T.J. exclaimed. "Talk about never give up; Cassie and the Phantom Ran- _Oww_!"

"Guys, cut it out! I think they've found it," Ashley said, beckoning them closer.

The view on the monitor had steadied a little, and was circling the group of columns. Mack caught sight of a glow inside them. It disappeared, then reappeared as the viewpoint changed. "_That's it all right,"_ Zhane said. They watched as the camera's viewpoint moved between the pillars, and then showed Zhane and Karone taking up positions around a dimly glowing sphere on a metallic pedestal.

"_Okay, so far so good,"_ Andros said. "_Karone, there's the release. Twist it open while Zhane and I lift the Source out."_

"_Okay."_ Mack got a quick glimpse of her reaching for a recessed flat handle in a round base, and starting to twist it before the camera focused on the globe, Andros' and Zhane's gloved hands under it.

"_It's stuck, too,"_ Zhane said, his voice strained.

"_I'll help."_ Karone's hands came into the picture. With a grinding sound, the glowing sphere moved slightly, and then with a jerk came free.

It happened so fast that Mack wasn't quite sure what he was seeing. Zhane shouted something; the camera picture tilted crazily; there was the shadowy movement of things falling and the sound of crashing and crumbling, and then the picture was blotted out by gray blankness.

"Andros!" Ashley cried.

Tyzonn grabbed the communications microphone. "Andros!" he called. "Zhane! Karone! Come in!"

"Switching to Zhane's camera," Vella said, her voice steady.

The screen blinked and darkened. After a moment, Mack could make out irregular lumps of concrete or stone or whatever the local building material was, and what he recognized as one of Zhane's gloves. Something else moved at the edge of the picture, and he realized it was Karone's helmet.

"_Andros... Zhane...?"_ she gasped.

"_Karone... are you all right?"_ It was Andros' voice.

"_I think so. It's Zhane - he was hit trying to protect me - he's not moving!"_

The image switched again, to Andros' camera, clearer now as the dust from the collapse settled. Mack could see Zhane's silver-suited form sprawled over Karone's pink and white one - with a fallen column lying on top of both of them. The picture spun and bobbed as Andros went nearer, and his gloved hands appeared, pulling at the column.

"_Can't lift it!"_ he gasped. "_Too heavy!"_ There was an ominous rumbling and more dust and particles began to fall into the field of view.

Mack was going for the doorway leading down to where they were before he was even aware of making a decision, reaching for his Tracker and striking it on the doorframe as he ran through. Morphed, the headlight in his helmet illuminating the stairs, he dashed down, finally reached the bottom, and ran out into the open space of the lower level, pausing for a moment to search the darkness. The sound of Karone's voice guided him before he saw their flashlights, and a moment later he was pushing Andros aside and bending to get a grip on the fallen column.

There was a cracking sound, and for a second Mack was afraid it would break and bring the whole building down on them, but then he pulled and lifted the stone pillar just enough to free the two Rangers pinned underneath. "Quick!" he said to Andros. "Get them out!"

Karone scrambled up, and she and Andros dragged Zhane free. There was the sound of other voices approaching, and the scuff of footsteps. Mack concentrated on setting the pillar down gently before looking up.

The rest of the Space Rangers were morphed and clustered around their teammates. Zhane was still morphed but seemed to be unconscious; T. J. and Carlos were supporting him between them while Vella ran a medscanner over him and Karone hovered anxiously. Andros was limping heavily but impatiently waved off Tyzonn's scanner and Ashley's help. "The Source!" he said. "We dropped it when the columns collapsed. If the building comes down - we've got to get it out of here!"

Mack didn't need to ask where the Source was - two more columns were now leaning crazily against the metal pedestal, and from underneath he could see its pearly glow. It was lying in an open space, but there was no room to get his arm in far enough to reach it.

"I'm smaller, let me try." Cassie was behind him, and he moved aside for her.

It was no use, not enough space for her to reach it safely either. "Don't touch anything," he warned. "If any more of these columns come down..."

"They're going to fall anyway," Ashley said as there was another rumble and a fresh scattering of dust drifted around them. "Maybe we should just break through, grab it, and run."

"You and the others head out," Andros said. "I'll stay and try for it."

"I'm not leaving you." Ashley's voice left no room for argument.

"Mack." Tyzonn tapped his shoulder and pointed. "Vella and I can get at it, but we'll have to move fast."

Mack took another look at the columns and the power source under them, realizing what Tyzonn was planning. "Got you. Okay - T. J. and Carlos, get Zhane out of here _now_. Ashley and Karone, help Andros and go with them. Cassie, get ready to grab the Source and run for it. Ty, I'm ready when you two are."

"Yes, _sir_," T. J. said a little sarcastically, but he and Carlos obeyed, carrying Zhane towards the stairs. Ashley tugged at Andros' arm; he resisted.

"What are you going to do?" Andros asked.

"You'll see."

Tyzonn and Vella waited just long enough for T.J., Carlos, and Zhane to reach the stairs before they stepped close and knelt side by side next to the fallen columns. Each held out an arm, and simultaneously their limbs shimmered, wavered, seemed to melt into twin waves of silvery liquid metal which swiftly distorted, streaming through the narrow spaces to surge around the Source. For a moment it seemed as if the sphere was not going to move - but then the two mercury arms flowed underneath and raised it, sending it rolling towards Mack, barely clearing the columns.

Swiftly, Mack grabbed it - heavy, but not too heavy for Ranger strength. "Cassie, take it and head for the stairs!" he said, handing it to her, and saw her nod, whirl, and run.

"Let's go!" Karone cried. She and Ashley each took one of Andros' arms and pulled him along at a trot.

Tyzonn and Vella were already retracting and reforming their arms. As they became flesh again, the rumbling increased and another column began to tilt, breaking near the bottom with a deafening crack - and falling straight towards Vella.

"Look out!" Mack leaped to catch it as she dived out of the way.

"Let's get out of here!" Tyzonn shouted.

He grabbed Vella's hand and ran, with Mack right behind them keeping an eye out for any more falling debris. As they reached the stairs Mack's last glance back was of the ceiling falling in chunks, the entire research facility the Karovians had once used to develop their Ranger powers disappearing into dust and a rain of rubble.

At the top of the stairs Mack, Tyzonn, and Vella staggered out close behind Andros, Ashley, and Karone, dashing though the now-deserted lobby, through the entrance, and into the street. Mack blinked in the brightness of the sunlight and looked around, grinning as Cassie held the Source high in triumph.

- x -

"Welcome to the Megaship."

"Wow." Mack tried to look at everything at once and very nearly stumbled over his own feet as they left the elevator Andros had called a megalift, and walked out into a large ship's bridge filled by several control stations, the walls covered with panels and displays, and dominated by a screen showing a view of the shipyard outside Karova City. It was huge and very futuristic to his eyes, and made Tyzonn's little spaceship seem cramped and bare.

Behind him, Tyzonn and Vella seemed almost as impressed, both staring wide-eyed. "I've never been on a class-1 ship before," Tyzonn said.

"It's magnificent," Vella added.

"Thank you," said an attractive female voice, seemingly from nowhere. "The Alpha Megaship Mark II was constructed here on KO-35 as a replacement for the original Megaship. It is a galaxy-class light cruiser with full armament, capable of hyper warp speed and serving as vehicle, battleship, headquarters, and living quarters to its crew."

"That's DECA," Andros said, waving a hand at a small camera mounted on a flexible stalk in one corner near the ceiling, "the ship's computer. She's a recreation of the original DECA on the first Megaship, complete with most of her memories restored from backup. DECA, this is Tyzonn and Vella from Mercuria, and Mackenzie Hartford from Earth."

"It's an honor to welcome the members of a Mercurian rescue team, as well as two Overdrive Rangers."

"Thank you," Tyzonn said.

Andros turned towards the other side of the room and indicated a brightly colored robot, a little shorter than most humans, with two arms and legs but with a round domed head, who had been busy at a control panel when they came in. "And this is--"

"Alpha!" Mack exclaimed. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I am Alpha Seven," the little robot answered. "The Alpha you met was another in my line, Alpha Six. He told me he had helped the Overdrive team the last time we communicated, and he told me all about you and Tyzonn. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"A pleasure to meet you too." Now that he looked for them, Mack saw differences - among them, this Alpha was a little shorter and his voice was less tinny than the one he remembered. "I didn't know there was more than one of you."

"Seven, so far. There may be more in the future, to carry on our mission as assistants to the Power Rangers."

DECA's voice made Mack look up at the camera watching them again. "Andros, you're injured. You should be in the infirmary along with Zhane."

"I'm okay, DECA," Andros said with an impatient sigh. He took a couple of steps. "See? The limp's almost gone."

"You still should let us check it out," Ashley said.

"Come on, Ash, I'm fine. Let's show Mack, Tyzonn, and Vella the rest of the ship."

Ashley didn't look entirely happy, but she nodded. T.J. and Carlos shook their heads, smiling. Cassie was the one who started for the lift, beckoning them to follow.

- x -

But the Megaship's infirmary was where they ended up, to see how Zhane was. They all trooped in through the automatically opening doors, Ashley and Andros having another difference of opinion on his need for medical help, only to stop short and guiltily fall silent as Karone stepped into their path with a finger across her lips in what appeared to be a universal signal for quiet.

"Zhane's resting," she said in a lowered voice, nodding towards a doorway leading to an inner room in answer to their questions. "He'll be okay, but the medical system gave him a mild sedative. He needs to get some sleep."

"We can come back later," Andros said, and hesitated, turning back to her with a little smile. "You'll - keep an eye on him? Be here when he wakes up?"

She returned the same smile, the similar expressions momentarily bringing out their resemblance. "He was hurt saving me; I owe him that much. And - I hope he and I can talk about - things - when he's better."

"I think he'll like that." Andros reached out to touch her arm. "It's great to see you again, Karone."

"And you. All of you."

They both looked as if they would have liked to say more, but Mack knew uncomfortably that he, Tyzonn, and Vella were still relative strangers in front of whom this tight group of close friends, former lovers, siblings, and spouses would not show that kind of emotion.

Maybe that was why Vella asked softly, "Would it be okay for us to take a look at your medical equipment? We'll be quiet, and we won't touch anything."

"Of course it's okay," Andros said. "The rest of us have to get back to the bridge. Just ask DECA if you need anything, and join us there when you're ready."

"Thank you."

A moment later the three of them were alone, as Karone stepped back into the inner room where Zhane was sleeping. Tyzonn and Vella were as good as their word and conferred in near-whispers, heads together as they seemed fascinated by panels of what looked like monitoring equipment and a few machines for basic tests. Mack looked them over too, but such things were not his specialty and he quickly grew bored. In search of something more interesting, he wandered to a back wall behind a divider hiding a line of doors, and opened one to find a medical supplies storage closet. The next was cleaning supplies. The third - he caught a glimpse of metal, the gleam of molded parts, a flash of red and yellow...

Spare parts for Alpha, he realized, or maybe the makings of a replacement, if needed. Mack paused in the doorway and then stepped inside, reaching out hesitantly to touch the cool surface of a domed headpiece. The sight disturbed him - it sent his mind into unwanted directions, like wondering exactly how he was different from the Rangers' little robot helper. More human-like, certainly, perhaps more complex, but those were differences of detail, not essential substance. Take away his artificial skin and replace it with polished metal, and...

And it was pointless to think about it. Mack stayed there for another few seconds, frowning, and then stepped back and shut the door. After putting a more pleasant expression on his face, he turned back and went in search of his friends - only to find the main infirmary room empty. Tyzonn and Vella must have left without realizing where he was - or gone inside to see Zhane. Mack had reached the interior doorway and was about to look inside when he heard a hoarse voice that he recognized as Zhane's.

"Karone? Is that you?"

"About time you woke up," Karone answered. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, I guess. A little sleepy. What am I doing in the infirmary?"

"You were hurt; don't you remember?"

"Oh yeah..." Zhane's voice was stronger now; half teasing, half mocking. "I was saving your butt at the time, wasn't I?"

Karone's reply was sharp. "If you mean you knocked me down and passed out on top of me, yeah."

"Same thing." Zhane sounded more serious as he asked, "What happened? Did we get the Source?"

"Yes. The Source is safe, and so is everyone else. We did it, with help from your friends and the rescue team."

"Good. I'm glad about that, anyway." The sarcastic note was back when he continued, "So you haven't taken off yet, to go back to your pals on Mirinoi?"

"I wanted to make sure you were all right. I guess I shouldn't have bothered." There was the sound of a step, as if Karone had gotten to her feet.

"Wait." There was a slight pause. "Sorry. I'm glad you stayed."

"Do you mean that?" Her voice was small.

"Sure I do."

A longer pause. "Zhane... we need to talk."

"I know."

"Why are you still so angry with me?"

"Why did you leave me?" Zhane countered.

"Why didn't you come with me?" Another hesitation before Karone continued. "You know why I left. The Galaxy Rangers needed me."

"They could have gotten someone else."

"Their Pink Ranger sacrificed herself to save the team and Terra Venture. She wanted me to have the Pink Saber and take her place. As far as we knew then, it was her last wish. How could I possibly have refused?"

"I guess." Zhane sounded reluctant.

"I've never understood why you got so angry. Why you wouldn't come with me, or wait for me. You're a Ranger; you should have understood."

"Karone..." Zhane sighed. "Look, I know it wasn't fair. Maybe I was being selfish to expect you to have more loyalty to me and to KO-35 than to a bunch of - well, strangers. But your leaving wasn't the only reason."

"Well? What was the rest of it?" Karone asked after a few moments of silence.

"It was why you tried to help them in the first place. It was the whole way you acted after everything was over and you were Karone again and realized what you had done while you were under Dark Specter's mind control. You - changed. Went from a strong woman to - to being meek and sweet and always so damn _sorry_ for everything you ever did as Astronema."

"I did terrible things as Astronema! What's wrong with trying to do some good to make up for it?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, up to a point. But you made it your whole mission in life. You never wanted anything for yourself, you never had an opinion, you always agreed with everything I said. That's not the woman I fell in love with! And then when you decided you had to go off and join another Ranger team, still trying to make up for Astronema... I started to wonder how long you were going to go on living for guilt, whether you were ever going to forgive yourself for something that wasn't your fault!"

"Did you expect me to just forget all about it? My fault or not - I spent so much of my life being taught to hate and destroy - and I was a good pupil, wasn't I? When I realized how Dark Specter and Ecliptor had lied to me, taken me from my family and turned me against my own brother, what they had made me into... Zhane, all I wanted then was to be as different from Astronema as I possibly could, to deny the part of me that was ever her. Can't you understand that?"

After a few seconds, Zhane's soft voice answered. "I wish you'd said all that before. When you didn't confront me when I wouldn't come with you, didn't argue, just shrugged and walked away, I thought you didn't care."

"I couldn't have done it then. But working with the Galaxy Rangers - for the first time I knew I was fighting for something good and right. It taught me to be strong again. Over the years since then I think I've learned to accept that side of me that was Astronema. To be a whole person again."

"Karone, I'm so sorry. I should have thought about what you were going through, and helped instead of making it worse."

"Damn right you should have."

There was the hint of a chuckle. "That's the Karone I know and love."

Hesitation again, and then: "Do you? Still?"

Zhane's voice sounded uncertain. "It's been a long time. Neither of us can be sure how we feel - but I'd like to find out."

There was silence, the kind that meant its occupants had found better things to do than talk. Mack had listened to the whole exchange, frozen in place, embarrassed, fascinated, afraid to move and risk them hearing and realizing they weren't alone. But now he had to leave, before he could hear anything even more intimate. Luckily the infirmary door opened silently - as quietly as he could, he tiptoed through it and breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out.

- x -

It was another two weeks before Mack saw Zhane again. Karone had joined in on their efforts to help the Karovians with a few of their more difficult recovery and reconstruction projects, when she wasn't on the Megaship. She looked happy, Mack thought, and smiled often. Andros had taken it easy for a few days to recover from his injury, which was obviously Ashley's idea and not his. Tyzonn and Vella had begun to talk about returning to Mercuria and getting back to planning for their wedding. Mack had continued to spend his time off relaxing with T.J., Carlos, and Cassie.

When Zhane made his entrance with Karone at his side they happened to all be together, taking a break after clearing out a mass of rubble which had blocked the entrance to an underground transit station. Andros was the first to spot the new arrivals.

"Zhane!" he called, raising a hand to wave. "Hey, nice of you to join us!"

They gathered around the grinning Silver Ranger. "Yeah, about time you stopped goofing off and did some work around here!" Cassie said, smiling happily.

"You notice he waited until we were done with the heavy lifting," T.J. said.

"I was just going to sit back and watch all of you sweat," Zhane said, "but I thought I'd give you a break. Seriously, I'm cleared for active duty again - and man, am I glad to get out of that infirmary."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Andros asked.

"Ready, willing, and able. If you guys have left anything to do."

"We've made a lot of progress, and things will go faster now that the city's got more power from the Source. But there's going to be plenty to do for a long time." Andros stepped back and rested an arm around Ashley's shoulders. "We're going to be leaving in a couple of weeks to go on patrol of the sector, so you'll have that long to help out."

"I know. And, well, actually..." Zhane exchanged a glance with Karone, and took her hand. "Karone and I have talked about it, and we've both decided to leave the Megaship and stay here."

"Oh." Andros' face fell, but he seemed to almost have expected it. "Both of you?"

"It's about time I came home," Karone said. "Hopefully for good."

"And the two of you...?"

"Who knows?" Zhane said with a return of his confident grin. "But we're going to give it a hell of a try."

There were a few more minutes of talk before Zhane and Karone headed off, saying they wanted to find Kinwon. When Mack next looked up from disposing of a few leftover pieces of debris, he noticed the remaining Space Rangers huddled in conference and assumed they were discussing what to do about Zhane's leaving. As it turned out, he was right. As he finally turned to go, arms full of the equipment they had used, he found T.J. and Carlos standing in his way wearing identical grins.

"Yes?" he asked after a puzzled moment.

"We've been talking," Carlos said.

"I saw that."

"And we were thinking - with Zhane leaving, we're going to be short one Ranger," T.J. said.

"Yeah, I guess. So?"

"So..." Carlos continued, "We were wondering if you'd be interested."

"_Me??_"

"Sure, why not you? We know we work well together, and we get along well. You did a great job with the Source."

"We know you're a member of Tyzonn's team, and he's your friend," T.J. said as Mack stared at them with no idea of how to answer. "If you say no, we'll understand. But the offer's there if you want it."

"Thanks," Mack said. "I'll have to think about it, and I'll have to talk to Tyzonn and Vella." As the thought of what that offer included began to sink home - the Megaship, travelling around the galaxy, best of all a new Ranger team of people he already felt close to - he found his grin matching theirs, and knew there was no question that he wanted it. "Thanks!" he said again.

- x -

And so it was that two weeks later the entire group stood on the spaceport field just outside Karova City, between the Megaship and Tyzonn's little cruiser. The Space Rangers had almost finished their goodbyes as Mack emerged from the Megaship after stowing his possessions in his new quarters. He joined them, feeling a now-familiar mixture of excitement at the prospect of new adventures and regret at leaving people he cared for behind.

Andros had gone last, hugging Zhane tightly and then Karone. He managed a smile as he stepped back to look at her, hands still on her shoulders. "It seems like I'm always finding you again and then saying goodbye," he said. "I'm going to miss you."

"You'll be here often, so it's not goodbye, just - so long." Still, her lips trembled slightly until she suddenly smiled. "Besides, maybe someday soon you and Ashley will decide to stop wandering around space and settle down here, and we can be a real family."

"Maybe." Andros exchanged a glance with his wife before turning to Zhane. "Take care of my sister. And take care of yourself."

"Don't I always?" Zhane moved closer to Karone, slipping an arm around her waist. "See ya, Andros," he said softly.

Mack had his own farewells, and hugged Vella first, smiling as he did. "Thanks for everything," he said. "It's been great working on the same team with you. Say goodbye to the others for me."

"I will." She raised a hand to touch his cheek. "I hope for the best for you, Mack; you deserve it. And please try to come to our wedding."

"Couldn't keep me away." Now came the hardest part, as Tyzonn stepped up with his usual warm smile. "Ty, what can I say? You've been the best friend a guy could ask for, and you've done so much for me."

"I'm glad if I could repay a small part of what you did for me on Earth."

"You've done a lot more than that. I still feel bad about leaving like this."

"Don't." Tyzonn's expression grew serious. "I never expected you to stay forever. You must find your own adventures, and this is the perfect opportunity for you." He moved in and hugged Mack hard, adding, "Be happy, Mackenzie Hartford."

- x -

"_And guess what, they're Rangers. You probably remember them; they were the team that defeated Astronema when she invaded Earth about ten years ago. Which is weird because I also met Astronema, or rather Karone, who used to be Astronema, but she's a good guy now. Confusing, huh? They were trying to recover an energy source on the planet KO-35 and we helped them when they got into trouble. _

_After that we kind of all got to be friends, and I got really friendly with three of them: Carlos, T.J., and Cassie. There's also Andros and Ashley, who are married. You should see their ship; it's incredible - Ronny would probably kill to pilot it. Oh, and they have another version of Alpha on board, and the ship's computer talks. It's cool. _

_So anyway they asked me if I wanted to join them when their sixth Ranger, Zhane, decided to leave. I felt bad about leaving Tyzonn, but he wanted me to do it. He's a terrific friend, the best. And here I am. They're all great guys, and I'm having a great time so far. We've been on a patrol of this sector of the galaxy for a couple of months, and helped out with trouble on a few planets plus doing some scientific research. _

_I guess that's about it - I hope your work with SPD is going well. Developing new Ranger tech sounds like it's right up your alley! Be sure to tell me all about it when you write - just address a letter to me on the Astro Megaship, send it through S.P.D., and I'll get it sooner or later. And maybe we'll be travelling near Earth soon, and I can visit. I hope so. _

_Until next time - so long, and I miss you guys. _

_Love, _

_Mack"_

Andrew sat, staring at the letter, in the familiar world of the fields behind S.P.D. with a gentle breeze ruffling his hair and a difficult decision he knew he would have to face sooner or later, but trying to imagine a ship deep in space and the people on it - people who were his son's new friends and teammates. He reread the last few paragraphs. Mack sounded so happy, so excited. It was a perfect situation for him, that was clear. Andrew tried to be glad, but the question kept nagging at him - what if Mack liked it so much that he never came home?

TBC...


	4. Outside Looking In, part II

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

A/N: The SPD background here is compatible with my slash stories 'The Secret of BioSynth' and 'Turns in the Road', but this is not part of them.

* * *

**Outside Looking In, part II**

**_November 2009, Astro Megaship _**

"So Mack, you have a girl back on Earth?"

Mack smiled up at the ceiling of his quarters on the Megaship despite the decidedly mixed feelings that question brought up. "Nope," he said without looking around at T.J. "Never had the time." True, but not quite in the way it sounded.

He was lying comfortably on his back, relaxing on his bunk. Carlos and T.J. were lounging in two chairs on opposite sides of a small table, playing a leisurely game of chess that neither seemed to be taking much interest in. It was another long, slow ship's time afternoon with nothing much to do. Mack had learned quickly that traveling between widely separated stars involved long days of downtime, and was looking forward to their next destination even if it was only a peaceful planet where they could at least get off the ship for a while, hopefully meet a new alien race, and do some sight-seeing.

"I hear you. Right from high school to the Megaship for us, and what with being Rangers in both places - not much chance for romance unless it's with another Ranger," T.J. responded.

"Like with Ashley and Andros," Carlos said. "Or Zhane and Karone - except that was before she became a Ranger. Maybe arch-villains count too."

"Well, between them and Tyzonn and Vella, I've seen enough romance to last me for a while," Mack grumbled. "No fun being around three happy couples those last weeks on KO-35 when I'm still single." He squinted suspiciously at Carlos and T.J. "If you two tell me you're a couple too, I'm going to be very depressed."

Carlos almost kept a straight face as he said, "Nah. Sorry, Teej, you're not my type."

"It's because I'm black, isn't it?" T.J. inquired.

"Yeah, man, that's it exactly." They all laughed, but Carlos' expression lost some of its humor as he continued, "Back in our Turbo days, I used to think maybe someday Ashley and I would get together - but the second she laid her eyes on Andros it was all over."

"Yeah, I used to think like that about Cassie at the beginning," T.J. said with a shrug. "But I never got around to making a move, and when the Phantom Ranger showed up that was the end of that. I guess she likes 'em tall, masked, and mysterious. We never found out who or what he is, it's been ten years, but I bet she still thinks about him."

Mack hesitated first, but he asked, "Doesn't it bother you? Being around both of them every day, I mean?"

"That was years ago; we're all just friends now," T.J. said. "No, doesn't bother me at all."

"Me either," Carlos said, although Mack thought he heard a hint of regret. "I'm happy for Ashley; Andros is a great guy."

"I bet she'd be happier if he was willing to settle down in one place," T.J. said. "Andros has been a little - driven - ever since he was forced to destroy Zordon to end the war with Dark Specter and Astronema. But I think Ashley's starting to hear the old biological clock ticking, and the Megaship is no place to raise a kid."

"You think she wants to go back to Earth?" Mack asked.

"Earth or KO-35, I don't think it matters to her," Carlos said. He sighed. "Been a long time since any of us lived on Earth."

"You sound like you miss it."

"I guess I do." Carlos frowned as he looked down at the chess board, reached for a piece, and pulled his hand back. "I mean - when Andros asked us all to team up again and we had the new Megaship built, I was really happy to join up, and I'm happy to be here. But - Earth is my home, and a man wants to go home again once in a while, you know what I mean?"

"Not me," T.J. said cheerfully. "I mean, I like Earth, but honestly - staying there got boring after life on the Megaship. I love it out here - how many people get the chance to see the universe like this? And the chance to really make a difference wherever the Rangers are needed? Maybe I'll want to go home again and settle down someday, but that's not going to be for a long time."

"What about a family?" Mack asked. "Don't you want that?"

T.J. just shrugged. Carlos answered, "Yeah, I think about it sometimes. I guess I want it both ways - I want to go on being a Ranger, and I want a family someday too." He smiled. "Who knows, maybe someday I'll meet another Ashley."

The soft sound of a chime interrupted them. At Mack's call of "It's open," the door slid aside and Alpha appeared.

"Don't let me interrupt," he said, stepping just inside the door. "I just want to deliver this." He held up an envelope in one metal hand. "It's for you, Mack."

"A letter?" Mack jumped up and crossed the room to take it. As he had expected, it was addressed to him, from his father on Earth, sent via SPD.

"It's from my dad," he exclaimed, already tearing it open and lifting out a sheet of paper.

"Then I'll leave you alone to read it," Alpha said, turned back to the door, and disappeared as it slid shut.

It was on the tip of Mack's tongue to call him back - but he didn't, despite the rather plaintive tone he was sure he had heard in the little robot's voice. The truth was that Alpha made him uncomfortable, his presence being a constant reminder of Mack's own real nature - a nature he still had not told his teammates about. For a moment he paused, eyes still on the door, wondering... Did Alpha know? And did he know how Mack reacted to him? Was that why he seemed so often to be leaving a room when Mack entered? Or was it all just his own overactive imagination?

"Maybe we should go, too," Carlos said from behind him.

"No! No, it's okay; go on with your game and I'll tell you what he says." Mack returned to his bunk and propped his back against the wall, feet on the bed, and unfolded the paper.

"_Dear Mack, _

_It certainly sounds like you're having an exciting time! Another Ranger team, too. I know you loved working with the Overdrive team, so I'm happy for you - also because they sound like a good group of people and good friends for you to have. But - I hate to sound like a father but I have to say it - be careful out there; as an active Ranger again you'll probably run into trouble."_

"Hah," Mack snorted.

"What?" T.J. asked, looking up from the chessboard.

"He says we're probably running into lots of trouble. I wish. Right now I could use some excitement."

"Why, are we boring you?" Carlos asked with a grin.

"I won't answer that on the grounds it may tend to incriminate me." With an answering grin, Mack returned to the letter.

"_As for me, you already know I'm in Newtech City, working for S.P.D. It's turned out to be a fascinating project - trying to develop Ranger technology that's not only new but beyond anything we used in Overdrive. The person in charge here is a Dr. Kat Manx - amusing name, but the woman herself is very impressive - and she has convinced me that we're going to need it, not immediately but in the future. _

_The scientific and engineering challenge is very exciting, and I get to work with some talented and brilliant people who worked with other Ranger teams. We all have a lot in common, and we've already become good friends..."_

_- x -_

"Welcome to S.P.D. We're delighted that you were willing and able to join us, and we appreciate the sacrifices you must have made in order to drop your own lives for a time and come here. I hope you'll agree it's worth it."

Andrew smiled and nodded, but said nothing as Dr. Manx continued, one part of his mind listening while another wondered how someone so young and beautiful had been put in charge of an operation like S.P.D. Of course youth and beauty had nothing to do with ability, he reminded himself - look at Rose, after all - but she seemed no more than twenty-five at most, and if she was a precocious genius like Rose (_stop thinking about her, dammit!_) he had never heard of her.

The woman standing next to him, on the other hand... He had certainly heard of Angela Fairweather-Rawlings, designer of the Lightspeed Rangers' morphers and equipment. In fact, he had read the paper she had written on the subject and exchanged a few letters with her while working on Operation Overdrive. Standing on her other side was her husband, Joel Rawlings, one of the former Lightspeed Rangers, his attention obviously drifting as he looked around the crowded office Dr. Manx had led them into, and at the people Andrew expected would be working with them. Too bad Spencer wouldn't be joining them, but he had known there would be other technicians as skilled as he was at S.P.D. and preferred to remain in the mansion and tend to his garden. He certainly deserved the time to relax without Andrew to take care of.

"Let me introduce the other principle members of our team. This is Dr. Michael Zaskin, on loan from Bio-Lab in Silver Hills. He's been with us since S.P.D. was formed, over three years ago." Dr. Manx nodded at a tall man perhaps a few years older than Andrew who smiled and adjusted his glasses with a nervous gesture. Andrew recognized the name - Zaskin was a bioengineer by education who had studied both the Time Force morpher technology and the long-term effects of morphing on the human body, and had written a series of very informative papers as a result.

"This is Nicolas Tate, who's worked with me from the very beginning. How long has it been, Nick? Ten years?"

A handsome young man with dark blond hair smiled at her as he answered, "Not quite ten - since Fall of 2000."

"Nick is a very talented biophysicist, and the leading candidate to become the first S.P.D. Ranger. Paul Carson is our other original member, and our expert in extra-dimensional physics." She indicated a brown-haired man who grinned and raised a hand in a wave. "Paul joined up only a few weeks after Nick, and has been invaluable in our morpher research."

"Can I ask a question?" Joel Rawlings said, raising his hand.

"Of course."

"You've got a pretty high-powered bunch of people here already, don't you? Why do you need us?"

"My husband's right," Angela said. "Technology-based Ranger powers have been done, more than once, and I understand you've been allowed to study one of the Time Force morphers and the Quantum Morpher. There's no reason for you to think you won't be successful, so why bring in Mr. Hartford and myself?"

"Good question." Dr. Manx sat down in the chair behind her desk and folded her hands, giving Andrew the impression she was carefully considering what to say, and perhaps how to say it. "What we need to build here is not just morphers, but the best and most powerful morphers we are capable of. They will be needed against a danger beyond anything the Rangers have come up against before, with the stakes the future of all of Earth and its people."

After a silent moment Andrew spoke. "Forgive me, but the Rangers have always faced great dangers and formidable enemies, with the fate of the world in the balance. How is this different?"

"This time, the enemy has already conquered countless worlds." A shadow seemed to cross Dr. Manx's face. "He is a ruthless warlord, from some distant planet whose location we have not been able to discover. He leads a vast army in his march to conquer and destroy everything in his path. Nothing has been able to stop him, nothing, despite all our efforts. His name is Gruumm, and he is coming this way - not today, not this year or even this decade, but soon. And we must be ready."

"'Our efforts?' Whose efforts?" Angela asked.

"How do you know all this?" Andrew asked almost simultaneously.

Dr. Manx stared at the three of them intently. "All of you have worked with Rangers - or been a Ranger. You've proven your loyalty and dedication to your teams. Now I'm going to ask you to show loyalty to mine. What I'm about to tell you must not leave this room, not yet, whether or not you decide to stay and work with us. Agreed?"

Puzzled, Andrew nodded slowly and saw the Rawlings do the same.

Only a slight tremor in her voice revealed emotion as Dr. Manx continued. "I know all this because one of the worlds devastated by Emperor Gruumm was mine." She raised a hand to the small pendant on a thin gold chain around her neck, and touched it. For an instant a shimmer of light flared around her head - and when it cleared, inhumanly bright green eyes looked at them, matched by large furred ears emerging from her hair.

"You're an alien!" Rawlings exclaimed, half-rising from his chair.

"Obviously," Dr. Manx said dryly. "Come now, you've encountered demons and spirits - and in your case, Mr. Hartford, aliens, before now. The idea shouldn't be shocking."

"Yeah, we have," Rawlings retorted, pointing a finger at her. "We 'encountered' them because they were out to destroy everyone on Earth!"

"One of the Operation Overdrive Rangers was an alien. Years ago an entire team of alien Rangers helped defend this planet. Zordon himself was an alien. We're not all bad." She smiled, although the appearance of the tips of fangs between her lips detracted from the impression of friendliness. "I was sent here by S.P.D. - not the Special Police Division of Bio-Lab but Space Patrol Delta, the real S.P.D. We're an interstellar law enforcement organization with bases on many worlds, headquartered on a planet called Sirius. I've been placed on Earth to prepare you to fight the war Gruumm will bring, both by developing weapons and by encouraging your society to accept other non-Earthlings like me."

"Okay..." Rawlings said slowly, tensely sinking back into his chair. "Say we believe you. How do we know we can trust you?"

Andrew already knew what his answer would be, just as he had known when S.P.D. had first contacted him. The teamup between Overdrive and a temporary team containing a Ranger from the future wasn't something he could talk about here, but he did have another good reason. "I've met Alan Collins a few times. He's not an easy man to fool. And I know Dr. Zaskin by reputation. If Bio-Lab is backing you, I guess that's good enough for me, Dr. Manx. Where do I sign up?"

"And me," Angela added. She looked at her husband.

"Oh man..." he sighed. "It's déjà vu all over again. Okay, I guess we're in. But - I'm not a scientist or an engineer. What am I supposed to do besides keep my wife company?"

Dr. Manx smiled again. "You're a former Ranger, Mr. Rawlings, and I believe you still have access to your Lightspeed Morpher? Yes. We were hoping you would consent to help test out the various vehicles and weaponry we're working on. It would also be very useful to see how our own Ranger suit's performance compares with yours."

"I get it," he muttered. "I'm going to be a test dummy."

Angela grinned and patted his hand. "Surely not a _dummy_, Joel, dear."

As they all laughed, even Rawlings, Andrew took another quick look at each face. The first step had been taken. They had just become a team.

_- x -_

At first the work was easy and pleasant, as they briefed each other on the techniques they had used and what they had learned from working with Ranger technology in the past. Andrew and Angela were the only ones who had built suits, weapons, and vehicles from scratch, so they found themselves the center of the group and spent a great deal of time working together.

Sometimes it reminded Andrew uncomfortably of a summer spent with another brilliant and attractive woman - and he told himself sternly that there would be none of the same mistakes this time. Little chance of that anyway, with Angela married, apparently happily, and treating him with no more than warm friendliness. And how did he feel about it himself? Under different circumstances Andrew thought he would have been very disappointed that they could be no more than friends, but whenever his thoughts strayed in that direction the memory of another face, staring at him in hurt and confusion in a solitary underground room, steered him away again.

There was little time to think of such things anyway, as they began to draw up new designs and pursue new ideas. Kat made her own contributions of technology so different it could only have originated in alien cultures. Mike Zaskin and Nick Tate quietly refined their efforts into the first S.P.D. Ranger morpher, and soon Nick and Joel Rawlings were testing the suit and the weapons and vehicles that would go with it. They began to get results, improved the designs, rebuilt, retested, rebuilt again. And somewhere along the line they began to grow beyond a team, into a family.

_- x -_

"So I spent maybe fifteen minutes trying to explain the concept of a pocket universe to Bridge," Paul Carson said, grinning as he leaned back in a lawn chair. "When I finished he just looked at me with that expression that makes you wonder whether he can tell what you're thinking or if he just wasn't paying attention. Then he asked me, 'Does that mean a universe you can put in your pocket or a universe that holds things like a pocket?'"

"Hah," Nick snorted. "Smart kid."

"Yeah. I told him 'both', and he nodded very seriously and asked me what was for lunch."

"Ah, he knows what the _really_ important questions in life are."

Andrew chuckled along with the others gathered in the shade of a tree in the Tates' back yard, and glanced at the boy in question. Five-year-olds Bridge Carson and Sky Tate were running in a circle along with four-year-old Syd Drew, wrapped up in some game involving a great deal of noisy shouting. Then he turned his attention back to Paul, Mike Zaskin, Nick Tate, and Callie Drew, Syd's mother. It struck him that they were all parents - and how much he had missed, never having relaxed with friends and neighbors on a lazy afternoon watching Mack as a child playing with other kids.

A couple of years ago he would never have had such a thought, and probably would have dismissed a day like this as boring and pointless. His life of exploration and adventure had seemed so much more worthwhile. And now? He found himself content - comfortable - maybe even happy, marveling that this was the reality of life for so many people - without the talk of higher dimensional physics, perhaps. It all felt so perfect, this moment surrounded by laughter as Nick's, Paul's, and Mike's wives emerged from the house with plates, silverware, and a few teasing remarks about their husbands' laziness; watching Joel Rawlings at the barbeque wearing, typically, a cowboy hat and a green apron with bold lettering inviting the guests to 'kiss the chef', flirting outrageously with Mike's fifteen-year-old daughter Heather, Kat Manx, and his own wife alike. The only thing missing was Rose... but he avoided that thought with the ease of long practice, and only a brief stab of regret at how much she would have enjoyed this place, this company, this conversation.

Especially now - Andrew could only imagine how Rose's eyes would have sparkled as Paul and Nick launched into a discussion of how an nth-dimensional object could present itself as an almost non-existent point in normal space until unfolded into the three dimensions of our familiar world, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. They were stopped only by Callie holding up her hands, laughing.

"Hey, I'm not one of you rocket scientists, remember, just a lowly chemist turned teacher."

"From what I hear, you were an excellent chemist." Angela appeared from behind Andrew, a glass of iced tea in her hand. "What made you give it up?"

Callie's eyes darted to her daughter Syd, now running through the grass at the end of the yard with Sky chasing her, and returned to Angela with a smile that seemed tinged with irony. "My scientific career had - consequences I wasn't ready to deal with," she said quietly.

"Oh," Angela said. "Sorry. I guess I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay. Syd is fine, and I enjoy my job. I don't regret what happened - but sometimes I wish I hadn't left. You guys are certainly doing exciting work."

"You could come back," Nick said. "Kat would hire you again in a second."

"No - I'd have too much catching up to do. Besides, I really do enjoy my job, and teaching is just as important in its own way as what you're doing."

There were nods all around - and then grins as Syd came running in at full speed and threw herself on her mother, shouting, "Mommy! Mommy, I found a frog, and my hand went all like dirt when I tried to catch it, and Bridge says it doesn't like me, and Sky made one of his wall things so I can't reach it anymore!"

"Let me see..." Callie took Syd's hands, which were smudged but otherwise normal. "Now, Sydney, you know your hands don't change unless you make them do it."

"But Moooommm, I can't help it!"

"You have to try, sweetheart. You know what Daddy and I have told you about using your power around other people."

"I'm sorry," Syd said, pouting prettily. "But Sky used _his_ power."

"He was bad too, and I'm sure his Mommy and Daddy will tell him so," Callie said with a glance at Nick, who quickly tried to put a more serious expression on his face. "Now go and play somewhere where you won't get so dirty, okay?" She smoothed the little girl's blonde hair and picked a leaf out of it. "You don't want to mess up your pretty new dress, do you?"

"Okay." Syd smiled brightly, the reprimand already forgotten, and took off into the backyard again.

That was another thing Andrew had in common with these people - they all had special children. An android in his case; in theirs a girl who could transform her hands into whatever substance she touched and a boy who could project force fields. And little Bridge - well, it was still unclear exactly what he could do, but there was definitely something different about him.

"Don't scold Sky," Callie said laughingly to Nick. "If he was keeping Syd from picking up frogs, I'm glad he used his power."

"Sometimes I wonder if we're doing the right thing, trying to teach them not to use their natural abilities," Nick said thoughtfully. "Preventing someone from using a talent they've been born with is trying to change their nature. Maybe it's not healthy."

"Maybe. But they have to learn when and where to use it." Callie sighed. "A little later on, when they're old enough... Well, who knows?" She chuckled, face brightening. "Maybe they'll learn to use their powers for good instead of for teasing other kids." But she was serious again after a moment as she asked, "Paul, how's Bridge doing? Do you know anything definite yet?"

"About what ability he has, if any?" Paul Carson shrugged lightly. "Whatever it is seems to be mental rather than physical. Not telepathy, but the kid is definitely unusually empathetic. Not psychic, but once in a while he seems to know what's going to happen before it happens. He's certainly intelligent - when we can get him to focus on a test long enough to get any results. And then - there's the mittens."

They all glanced at the children again, off in a corner of the yard playing quietly for once. "Mittens?" Andrew asked, hiding a smile as he remembered an adult Bridge who always wore gloves. Odd to think the small child he was looking at would someday be the Ranger he had worked with.

"Yes, ever since last winter he keeps wanting to wear his mittens, even when it's warm. Says they keep the colors out, whatever that means."

"But he's healthy and happy. They all are, thank God. It could have been a lot worse," Callie said softly. She smiled and seemed to deliberately shake off her mood as she stood up. "I'm going to go see if I can help with the food. And I think you guys should give your wives a hand with setting the table if you don't want to sleep on the couch tonight!"

After a few joking complaints, the husbands trailed after her to make themselves useful. Andrew thought there were quite enough people taking care of the small amount of work needed and was content to stay where he was, especially as Angela took a seat next to him.

"Not helping Joel with the barbeque?" he asked.

"No, he's a much better cook than I am." She smiled as her husband caught her eye across the yard and winked. "Besides, he's having way too much fun being the center of attention."

"He does like the spotlight, doesn't he? Not that I'm criticizing."

She laughed. "Don't apologize. Joel's a show-off, always has been and always will be. I didn't like it at first - but it's harmless. He's such a kid about it."

"Yeah, he's - well, he's certainly a character." To tell the truth, Andrew hadn't liked Joel's grandstanding and façade of what approached arrogance at first, and wasn't sure he didn't still feel that way. The man had a way of being irritating and charming at the same time - he had a good heart and a quick mind, certainly, but his manner didn't always let those qualities through.

"That he is." Angela glanced at him with an amused glint. "He can rub people the wrong way; you don't have to pretend he doesn't."

Andrew leaned forward, closer to her. "Can I ask you a question? If it's too personal, just tell me to shut up."

This time her smile was decidedly ironic. "How did two people as different as Joel and me fall in love and get married? What do I see in him? How do we get along? What do we talk about?" She shrugged. "I've heard all the questions before, believe me."

"Well, I would have put it a little differently, but yes."

Angela was looking at her husband again, eyes soft now. "To coin a cliché, he makes me laugh. Oh, there's a lot more to it - Joel is brave and loyal. He risked his life as a Ranger to protect us all. And he's more romantic than you think - I treated him pretty badly at first, but he kept coming back. The only time he gave up was when he thought I was in love with someone else, and then - he said he wanted me to be happy, and I know he meant it." She sighed slightly, and then grinned. "When it comes down to it, I can't explain. By all the rules we should never have gotten together, and certainly shouldn't be happy. But sometimes the differences don't matter, when there's love. We _are_ happy, and that's all I can tell you."

"Differences..." What was a difference in age compared to such differences in personality? If it worked for Angela and Joel... Despite his supposedly superior experience and wisdom, maybe Rose had seen what he hadn't: that all the other things they had in common were much more important. But what was the point of wondering whether he had made a mistake? It was too late, much too late; she would certainly have found someone else, or just no longer be interested.

Angela was watching him, her gaze frankly curious. "What about you, Andrew? Is there anyone? And feel free to tell me to shut up if you don't want to say."

He looked down at his hands, resting on his knees. "There was a girl in college. A few women I've dated since then. And - someone - last summer. Didn't work out." He looked up with what he hoped was a casual expression. "No, there's no one. If I'd put as much effort into my love life as I have into everything else, who knows?"

"There's still plenty of time. And I can't imagine too many women turning down a guy like you." Angela smiled at him for a moment before she jumped to her feet. "Look, they're taking pictures! I'd better stop Joel before he gets in every shot. Let's go."

When he joined the crowd, Nick was sitting next to his young son on a bench at the side of the yard while his wife, Lyn, aimed a camera at them. Sky squirmed restlessly and exclaimed, "Daddy, wear your suit! I wanna picture of you in the suit!"

"Sky, the morpher's not a toy. I'm only supposed to use it in emergencies." Nick glanced at Kat.

"I think it's okay just this once," Kat said, smiling. "Go ahead and morph."

"Whatever you say, Boss." Nick didn't look at all reluctant as he stood up and touched the morpher he had started wearing only a month before. There were a few cheers and scattered applause as he transformed into the S.P.D. Red Ranger with a flash of light, then bowed with a flourish and took his seat on the bench again.

"Honey, why don't you take off the helmet?" Lyn said. "We don't want anyone thinking you're Wes Collins, after all."

"Yeah, wouldn't want that." Nick was smiling as he lifted the helmet off, but Andrew thought he saw a trace of irritation. Couldn't really blame him; the suit he was wearing was their first attempt - a duplicate of Wes Collins' Time Force suit, except for the small S.P.D. badge. Later they would work out new designs, but for now Nick must feel like he was stuck with a hand-me-down.

"Okay..." Lyn looked through the camera viewfinder again as Nick dropped a hand around his son's shoulders. "Smile, Sky! Oh well, I guess it'll do." The camera clicked on Nick's grin and Sky's stubbornly solemn face.

_- x -_

Work progressed over the next weeks, but not as quickly or as smoothly as in the beginning. Andrew had expected snags, and knew they had hit one even before a warm early May afternoon at the practice track behind the main S.P.D. buildings as he stood with Angela beside him and watched their prototype red Delta Cycle with Nick aboard spin out and crash spectacularly into a tree, while the green version with Joel riding swerved wildly to avoid it and slid out of control in a cloud of dust.

"Joel!" Angela cried and headed for her husband at a run. Andrew hurried after her, noting with relief that both of them were still morphed. Nick had hit pretty hard, but was already unsteadily struggling to his knees.

"Are you okay?" Andrew asked as he reached him.

"Yeah, think so," Nick answered breathlessly. With Andrew's help he got up, raised his arm and tapped his morpher, and powered down.

"You're hurt." Andrew could see a bruise on Nick's jaw, and from the way he was rubbing one arm and wincing, there were more.

"A few bumps. Could have been a lot worse."

They both turned as Joel's voice demanded, "Nick, man, what happened?" to see Joel approaching, demorphed and apparently unhurt, with Angela at his side.

"It was a little sluggish, and then surged on me while I was accelerating. Just got away from me. We need to work on stabilization."

"Yeah, no point in more power if you can't control it."

"I'll get a crew out here to bring the bike into the main lab," Angela said with a glance at the wreckage. "We'll have to find out what went wrong before we repair it."

"More like rebuild it," Andrew muttered. "It's probably a total loss. Joel, how did the green bike perform?"

Joel shrugged. "It was dragging a little. Maybe if I'd stepped on it, I'd be the one who crashed."

"Uneven power feed, maybe?" Angela said as they all started for the building.

"Sounds like it. Maybe Kat will have some ideas."

"Why don't you talk to her? We need to make a report on this anyway."

"Okay. See you in a few minutes."

He had only a fleeting impression that Kat's voice sounded a little off when it answered his knock on her office door. Nothing wrong, exactly, just not her usual brisk and confident tones. He opened the door and found her sitting in her usual place, back straight, hands flattened over the pages of some report which were scattered on her desk, face downturned. He hardly noticed that she didn't look up.

"Kat, we've run into a problem with the 'cycles," he said without preliminaries.

"What kind of problem?" She still didn't look at him.

"Both Nick and Joel said they were slow to respond. When Nick hit the accelerator, the red 'cycle surged and went out of control." He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid it's totaled. We'll have to rebuild, and we need to do an analysis first and redesign."

"Analysis and redesign." Kat was looking at him now. She was without disguise, as usual within the confines of S.P.D., and her brilliant green eyes, furry ears, and feline fangs were a familiar sight. And yet - the way she was staring at him sent a shiver down his spine.

"Yes, we must have overlooked something-"

With an abruptness that made him jump she sprang to her feet, eyes blazing, fingers curled like claws. "Analysis and redesign! Again! We don't have _time_ for mistakes! Why can't you humans understand that?! Why can't you..." Just as suddenly, Kat trailed off with a stricken look and lifted trembling hands to cover her face.

"Kat?" Andrew asked awkwardly as she stood unmoving. "Is something wrong?"

"My people don't cry," she said, hands dropping as she stepped back and slumped into her seat. Again she looked up at him, this time with a face that impressed him as frozen and drained of all strength. "Does it help you? Crying? Does it make the pain go away?"

"I guess it's an outlet." Andrew moved closer and propped himself on the desk, reaching out to lightly touch her shoulder. "What's happened? Tell me."

She gestured towards the papers in front of her, which he could now see were covered with a writing that was alien to him. "Sirius. The planet where S.P.D. has its home base, its central headquarters. It's been attacked."

"Gruumm?"

"Yes." To Andrew's relief, Kat seemed calmer now. "His army invaded and overran the entire populated part of the planet. All gone, the Sirians. Exterminated. They were a proud and fierce people, and Gruumm did not spare them." She inhaled raggedly. "I lived on Sirius for a time after my own world was conquered. That's where I joined S.P.D. People I worked with, people I was friends with..."

"I'm sorry," Andrew said softly, feeling the inadequacy of the usual words.

"A rescue force is searching for survivors. I hope..." She trailed into silence again. "I'm sorry, Andrew, but may I be alone?"

"Of course. But we're all here when you need us." He turned back at the door. "And we'll work harder. Maybe - maybe get more people."

"Yes. If you know anyone who could help, and who can be trusted to keep our secrets."

"I might." _If she's willing to come,_ he added silently as he closed the door behind him.

He still thought he was only considering it two hours later, after he had finished examining the test track. He thought he hadn't made a final decision until the moment he picked up the telephone and dialed, and said to the voice that answered, "May I speak to Rose Ortiz, please?"

_- x - _

"_We've also had some setbacks, as you might expect with any project dealing with Ranger powers. In fact, I've asked Rose to join us, and we're expecting her as soon as she can make arrangements and fly over. It will be good to work with her again, and I hope she'll feel the same way. _

_So, you can see life has been eventful here, although not as exciting as yours. I hope you'll write again soon and tell me more about your new friends. I'm thinking of you, and I'm sure Spencer is too. _

_Love, _

_Dad"_

"Nice," Carlos said after Mack had finished and quietly folded the letter.

"Yeah, a father who not only knows you're a Ranger, but is the one who made you a Ranger," T.J. said. "Sweet!"

"Yeah, sweet," Mack replied. If he sounded less enthusiastic than T.J., no one noticed as DECA's voice spoke from the air.

"All hands are requested to report to the bridge. We are receiving a communication."

"What kind of communication needs _all_ of us to hear it?" Carlos wondered as they got up and filed out.

_- x - _

They found out when they reached the bridge to find Andros and Ashley already there, sparing only a tense glance at their teammates. There was an image on the viewscreen of the head and shoulders of a Ranger - not one Mack had seen before, with a helmet and armor bulkier than the usual outfit, all in black and silver.

There was the familiar hiss of the door opening, and Mack looked behind him to see the last member of their team enter. Cassie stopped with a jolt and an audible gasp as she saw the screen.

"Everyone is here," DECA announced with her usual calm. "You may go ahead, Phantom Ranger."

TBC...


	5. Less Than Perfect, part I

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

Took me long enough, partly because this is a long sucker, partly just laziness and writer's block. The rest of the story should go a lot faster.

* * *

**Less Than Perfect, part I**

- x -

**_May 2010, Newtech City_**

Andrew was going through the desk in his office one more time, looking for any personal items he might have missed, when the quiet tap on his door interrupted. He looked up to see a tall, broad form wrapped in a long, high-collared uniform coat, dark eyes watching him from a blue dog's head.

"I see you're finishing up here," Commander Cruger said.

"Yes, just making a last check." Andrew straightened with a sigh and looked around. "My things are packed. My notes and reports are filed; my computer records are all in order."

"Good." Instead of leaving, Cruger stepped into the room. "I hope you understand why I feel it's best for you to leave as scheduled, despite what's happened."

"I guess." Andrew shrugged. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure what I feel right now. Maybe you're right, that we need to take a break. I may be back, though."

"If so, you will be welcome." Again, Andrew expected Cruger to leave, but instead he reached into a pocket and held out a white envelope. "A personal letter has come for you. I believe it is from your son."

"For me?" Andrew said, and took it. Only a glance confirmed that it was from Mack. "Thank you."

"I'll leave you to read it."

Andrew sat down in his chair - perhaps for the last time, he couldn't help thinking - and slowly opened the letter. He could summon only a ghost of his usual enthusiasm at news from Mack, and told himself that he should be happy. At the very least it was a welcome distraction. More importantly... he hoped it would tell him that his son was safe and well.

_"Dear Dad,_

Funny, when I read your last letter I was wishing for some excitement. Now I know why they say to be careful what you wish for. Don't worry; obviously I survived since I'm writing this to you now. And it's another funny thing, I guess - I used to wonder what it would be like to meet other androids like me, and now I've sure gotten that wish too. My own kind of people, but I'm not as happy about that as I thought I would be..."

- x -

At first glance, it looked like any other nighttime street in any other medium-size city on any other reasonably technologically advanced planet in the galaxy. Vehicles looking a lot like sleek and brightly colored Earth sports cars drove back and forth; pedestrians strolled wide sidewalks looking into colorful storefronts decorated with electronic displays. Just like any of dozens of worlds Mack had visited with the Astro Rangers in the last months - until you took a closer look.

"Man, will you look at those two?" T.J. breathed reverently.

Mack followed his gaze, trying not to stare at the pair of young women passing them. One had a delicately porcelain complexion complemented by a cloud of wavy deep red hair; the other had long hair of gleaming gold, creamy brown skin, and grass-green eyes. Both were tall and slim, with faces and figures that would have had modeling agents chasing them down the street on Earth.

"And that one... wow!" Carlos said, almost falling over his own feet as he craned his neck to look at a platinum blonde with full crimson lips and sky blue eyes, wearing a well-filled short dress that showed a great deal of smooth tanned skin.

"Not to mention them," Cassie said, frowning slightly as she nodded towards a trio of men - all tall, broad-shouldered, athletically built, astonishingly handsome, with rippling muscles showcased in what looked very similar to skin-tight jeans and even tighter sleeveless t-shirts.

And that was the problem - almost everyone they saw was - perfect. Perfectly beautiful, perfectly handsome, in perfect shape, perfectly dressed and groomed, many with some kind of unusual coloring. The very few ordinary-looking people they saw stood out like sore thumbs, and not only because they all wore drab, loosely fitting clothing in shades of brown, gray, and black, in stark contrast to the bright colors of the beautiful people, but because of the way they moved quickly and with downcast eyes instead of with a confident swagger.

Mack thought he and his teammates fell somewhere in-between - their Megaship uniforms were flattering but not as revealing as most of the costumes around them, and even though they were an unusually good-looking group they didn't have the uncanny beauty of the faces and bodies in those costumes. And they were attracting attention - increasingly Mack saw stares directed their way, and not entirely friendly ones.

"Andros?" Ashley asked in a low voice as they instinctively drew together. "What do you know about this planet?"

"Only what the Phantom told us. It's called Perfection, and I guess we can see why."

"Yeah, those perfect aspects are pretty obvious," T.J. said. He looked around and shivered slightly. "I like eye-candy as well as the next guy, but this is just weird."

"Weird is a pretty good word," Mack said. "Come on; let's get to where we're meeting the Phantom. Maybe he can explain what's going on here."

"According to the Megaship sensors, it should be this way." Carlos led them in a direction that took them into a less active area, to Mack's relief. The streets were darker here; and the few people they saw were of the dark-clothed, ordinary variety - most of whom glanced their way and hurried in the opposite direction. The buildings began to seem different, too, as they walked along: not as tall, not as bright, many with a run-down and shabby appearance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've crossed to the wrong side of the tracks," T.J. said softly.

"I think you're right," Cassie agreed. She crossed her arms, hugging herself in a nervous gesture. "I wish Phantom had told us a little more than just to meet him here."

"He said he had to talk face-to-face." Ashley smiled a little as she put an arm around Cassie's shoulders and squeezed lightly.

"I know. But - all these years when I didn't even know if he was alive - all this time without a word and then it's just a set of coordinates and 'Meet me.' He could have said _something_."

"Yes, I could have. I'm sorry, Cassie."

They all spun around at the sound of a new voice - the voice of a young man. Mack thought he saw a shimmer in the apparently empty air between them and the nearest light post, and was sure of it as the shimmer blurred and changed into the solid form of a man wrapped in a dark cloak - a handsome man, almost as handsome as the ones they had seen before but without their showy degree of beauty, with brown hair and eyes, tall but no taller than Mack himself.

"Phantom?" Cassie asked faintly.

"Yes, it's me. I'm glad you came. All of you, including your new Ranger." His eyes moved to include all of them but immediately returned to Cassie.

"Why did you call us? What's going on here?" Andros asked.

Phantom glanced around. "Not here. Follow me and I'll tell you everything."

He led the way, almost invisible again in his dark cloak as they headed out of the city and the lights became fewer and farther between. In a few minutes, under the pale light of an almost full moon a little smaller than Earth's, they left the last sidewalk and climbed a gentle slope to the edge of a wooded area, whether a park or unsettled land Mack couldn't tell. The Phantom slowed, but they continued to walk uphill along the tree line.

"Thanks for meeting me like this," Phantom finally said. "I wasn't sure you'd come after all this time."

"You've done us quite a few favors in the past," Andros said. "Of course we came."

"It's worth it just to see what you really look like under that helmet!" Ashley exclaimed, glancing back at Cassie who was trailing behind silently.

"What I really look like is part of it." Phantom sighed and threw the cloak back over his shoulders, revealing a darker and more loose-fitting version of the clothing they had seen on the men downtown. "I owe you an explanation. Where should I start?"

"At the beginning, of course," T.J. said with a grin.

"I guess that would be the battle with Dark Specter's army, or the ending of it. Zordon's sacrifice won the war and destroyed the forces of evil, saving me and the Blue Centurion." He nodded at Andros, whose lips tightened a little. "Afterwards, I realized that for the first time in my existence I had no mission. Dark Specter was destroyed and all his allies were either gone or reformed. Zordon, whom I had tried to serve, was also gone. I attempted to find the ones who had sent me to help him, but my home planet had taken heavy damage and there was no one left to whom I owed allegiance. I found myself alone."

"Your planet?" Carlos asked. "Who are you, really?"

"You might better ask _what_ I am." Phantom's head was high, but his eyes shifted in Cassie's direction again.

And she spoke up at last. "I don't understand."

"It's not easy to explain." He sighed again. "Hundreds of Earth years ago, my home world developed the science of robotics beyond anything then known in the galaxy. They used it for the usual purposes - to take the burden of hard or dangerous labor off human hands. But they went further - they created robots in the form of humans. Androids. Not only looking human, but acting and thinking and feeling as humans do. They wanted servants who were intelligent and pleasant to look at, but what they ended up with was many thousands of androids who saw no reason why they should spend their existence taking orders, doing the menial work humans were not willing to do."

"Don't tell me. The androids rebelled," T.J. said.

"Yes, almost two hundred of your years ago. After a bitter conflict, the planet's androids built, borrowed, and stole as many spaceships as they could, and left." He swept a hand around them. "This is the planet where they settled, along with a number of humans who sympathized with their cause."

Mack froze. The city... all those beautiful people. Those inhumanly beautiful people. Androids? Like him? The concept tumbled dizzily through his mind as he stared back at the lights they had left behind. Tyzonn had said there were places where he would not be unusual - and this must be one of them. And yet - he tried but somehow could feel no kinship with the cold physical perfection he had seen in them.

"What's that got to do with you?" Cassie asked, her voice low.

"After the android rebellion, the people of my planet outlawed the construction of human-appearing robots. They continued to build robots which were intelligent and capable of independent thought, but they treated them with respect, as valued allies rather than as inferiors." Phantom stopped and took a deep breath as everyone gathered around him, listening. "Some years ago, my world's government established ties with Eltar. They wished to do something to help Zordon in his work to ensure the safety of the Galaxy, so they sent him an assistant. He was called Alpha."

"Alpha?" Carlos exclaimed. "So - you're from Edenoi?"

"Yes. Some time later they sent him another ally, who discovered Zordon was not on Eltar and followed his trail to Earth." He tapped his chest. "Me."

"I see..." T.J. said after a moment. "Then you're...?"

Mack was glad no one was looking at him as Phantom answered, "A robot. An android. Yes." He spoke to all of the Astro Rangers, but his gaze was on Cassie. "I'm sorry I never told you."

She lifted her chin and said steadily, "We suspected you might be an android because you needed the ruby as a power source, of course. It doesn't matter."

"But it _did_ matter, to me. When I was free of any obligation, I had time to think about what I wanted for myself. And I left, in search of the world we're standing on."

"Why?" Cassie was facing him now.

"To ask them to do something for me. You see..." He hesitated visibly. "I was never created to look human. I was a fighter. The armor you saw - that was me. I never showed you what was under the helmet because the helmet was all there was." Phantom continued as they all stared in silence. "For decades that was enough, and I was happy. But then - I found I had a reason to want to be more like a human."

He said it directly to Cassie, and Mack saw a very faint smile curve her lips.

"It took me two years to find this planet. It took three more for them to do what I wished, to completely rebuild my body without altering my mind. Then - I realized five years had passed, and that you had probably forgotten me, or found someone else, or simply wouldn't be interested in someone like me. I was a coward - I made excuses to delay finding you, and more years passed."

"I'm glad to finally know the truth."

He shook his head and looked away. "I shouldn't even be saying these things. Even with this body, I'm still not human."

"What if I don't care?" Cassie said softly. Her fingers barely touched his.

"You don't?"

"I don't."

"Did you...? Do you still...?"

"I think so... We never got a chance..."

As they gazed dreamily into each other's eyes, apparently having forgotten all about the other Rangers, whatever Phantom had contacted them about, and probably the entire planet they were standing on, Andros cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt, but we still don't know why you asked us to come here, Phantom."

"Huh? Oh, right." Phantom tore his eyes away from Cassie with an effort and collected himself with a deep breath, again looking back at the city lights spread below them. "The androids of Eltar may have named this planet Perfection, but the truth is very different. You saw them; they worship physical beauty. They modify and 'improve' themselves, compete with each other to be the most attractive and unusual-looking and the best dressed, and they've built this city to be a showcase, as perfect and beautiful as they are themselves."

"Well..." T.J. said as the Phantom paused. "That's kinda creepy and all, but it's their lives to do whatever they want with. What's the big problem?"

"I told you there were humans who came here too." Phantom frowned. "You saw them."

"Yeah, the regular-looking people," Carlos said.

Cassie glanced at him and then at the city. "And mostly in an area that looked like a slum," she said thoughtfully.

"Exactly. The androids have forgotten that these are the descendants of people who wanted to help them. They don't care for anything flawed, and to them that's all humans are - creatures full of flaws that can't be fixed by a little rebuilding or reprogramming. They've tolerated the humans here, but just barely, treating them as unwanted inferiors. Until the rebellion started, and the underground was formed."

The irony of it was enough to pull Mack's attention away from his own mixed feelings. "So - the androids rebelled on Edenoi, and now the humans are rebelling on Perfection," he murmured.

"Exactly." Phantom's head was bowed now, his face in shadow, but his voice was clear and steady. "My new body was built by the androids of Perfection, but I have not forgotten that humans created me. I owe a debt to both, and I must prevent the war I see approaching. That's why-"

"What is it?" Andros asked as the Phantom stopped and looked around, his head raised alertly.

"I heard it too," Mack said, his voice lowered. It was only a whisper on the breeze - voices, footsteps, the soft crunch of crushed grass and leaves...

"We've got to get out of here," Phantom said softly but urgently, a hand reaching out towards Cassie.

"_Nobody move!_" The harsh command rang out from the trees close above them. "Hands open, arms out!"

"Morph, _now_!" Andros cried, already reaching to flip his morpher open.

But there was no time, as the voice above them shouted "FIRE!" and a crisscross of brilliant golden beams struck at them. Mack ducked, his faster-than-human reflexes saving him from the first barrage, and saw Andros and Carlos outlined in yellow as they were hit. Ashley screamed and flashed with light; T.J. was yelling something until the impact of a beam cut him off; Phantom was pulling Cassie away as she too flared with golden energy. They were all collapsing limply to the ground; the Phantom had disappeared; and then Mack felt the light hit him, scorching, his body no longer responding as he fell stiffly and thumped into the grass.

Mack could hear dim footsteps and hear them talking as they came from the trees and bushes and stood over him. He could hear that same commanding voice asking, "Is it him?"

Something prodded him in the shoulder and then shoved him onto his back. Mack couldn't move his eyes and got only a confused impression of men in dark uniforms carrying rifle-like weapons. "No. He's the trace we picked up - but he's not the Phantom," another voice answered.

"Too bad. Still, he's one of us, and consorting in secret with humans." The voice was fading, along with the lights. Mack realized he was losing consciousness, but held on long enough to hear a few more words. "Maybe he knows something. Take the humans to the Fortress, and bring this one along to the Castle. Artemis will want to talk to him."

- x -

"Where are you taking me?" Mack demanded as a hand in his back pushed him forward down a wide hallway. He noted in passing the dark woodwork, the polished and patterned floor, the decorative tapestries and statuary along the walls, the ornate sconces lighting the way. It was beautiful, but seemed out of place somehow - better suited to a billionaire's home than a place where he was being held prisoner.

The three men escorting him gave no answer as they stopped in front of a door, its frame elaborately carved in mahogany. Their leader, a tall, muscular, classically handsome man with long curly hair - the same man whose voice had been giving the commands when Mack and his teammates were captured - raised a hand to knock.

"You may enter," a female voice answered.

The door opened and Mack found himself dragged into a large room with white walls and rich white carpeting, a large fireplace dominating one wall and decorated with furniture in dark wood tones. A woman stood silhouetted in the light from the fire, watching with arms crossed until they stopped in the middle of the room. Then she walked slowly forward, circling Mack with measured steps and a thoughtful expression. She was stunningly beautiful, of course, just like everyone else in this place: with strong, even features, a distractingly shapely figure in a black bodysuit shimmering with silver threads, long black hair falling past her shoulders with a liquid sheen Mack had never seen before outside of a shampoo commercial. Beautiful - but there was no human warmth in those ice blue eyes.

"Release him," she commanded.

"But Artemis, he may be dangerous," the leader protested.

"Thank you for your concern, Tyr, but I think I can handle one man." She shifted her sharp gaze to him. "Release him, and wait outside."

"Yes, ma'am." Not looking pleased, Tyr unlocked the handcuffs that had bound Mack's wrists, saluted stiffly, and led his men outside. The door closed behind them, leaving Mack and Artemis warily eyeing each other.

"You're not the Phantom," she said, beginning that unnerving slow pacing around him again.

"No, I'm not."

"Where is he?"

Mack answered truthfully, "I don't know." For the moment at least, he thought it might be wiser not to admit having met the Phantom or admitting any connection with him.

"Hmm." She stopped, facing him. "What were you doing with those humans?"

"'Those humans' are my teammates. Where are they? What have you done with them?"

"I'm asking the questions for now," she said mildly, and then her eyes narrowed and her voice sharpened. "Who are you? Our scans show you're not of Edenite design."

"I'm from Earth."

She ignored his answer. "Did Diana have you built to spy on us?"

"Who?"

"You don't have to serve the humans; we can modify your programming and set you free."

"Huh? I _am_ free."

"You may _think_ you're acting on your own, but if you were built by the humans who knows what's in your programming?" Artemis paused and smiled with more than a trace of mockery, her eyes running over him again from head to foot and back. "And I can tell you were built by humans. Only they would have made you with such - er - _interesting_ flaws. The body's not too bad, but could use improvement. Hair - just ordinary. Basic facial features are okay, but that skin..." She shook her head. "Quite lovely eyes, though."

Mack could feel his face redden at her casual cataloging of his physical construction, but said nothing.

"Is that..?" Artemis looked more closely. "Why, they even made you with a blushing reflex!" She held up a hand, chuckling. "I take it back; Diana's much too clever to imagine you could pass as one of us. But then, what was the purpose of making you this way? To have you pass as human? How would that help her? Or are you meant to confuse us?"

"Look, lady, I don't know who you think I am, but I'm from Earth!" Mack retorted hotly. "I'm - yeah, I'm an android like you, but made to look like a human being, not like a - a walking Barbie doll!"

"A what?"

"Never mind," Mack muttered, and went on more calmly. "I was built on Earth by my - by someone, to be his..." He trailed off as Artemis raised a skeptical eyebrow. "It's a long story, but I'm a stranger here and so are my friends. We haven't done anything wrong! Where are they?"

"They're safe. For now." Artemis took a step closer. "Earth? I've heard of it: an obscure planet orbiting an insignificant star. It seems to attract a lot of attention from various conquerors and invaders."

"Tell me about it," Mack muttered.

"As I recall, it's one of the few planets to always have a standing Power Ranger team."

"That's right." Mack decided to pull what he hoped would be a trump card. "And I'm a member of a former team. So are my friends; we're all Rangers, from Earth and from KO-35."

"Are you?" Artemis' eyes narrowed slightly and her voice fell into deceptively soft tones. "Rangers, all of you. How interesting. Especially when the Phantom is also a Ranger!" She was confronting Mack almost nose to nose now. "You know him, don't you? From before he came here, perhaps? Where is he? How does he block our scans and sensors and disappear from sight? What technology is he using and where did he get it?"

"I don't--"

"What are his plans? Exactly how are you and your human friends involved?"

"I never met him before! I don't know his plans!"

"Never _before_?" Artemis said as Mack realized his slip. "So you _did_ meet with him tonight. What are all of you doing here? Just happened to be in the neighborhood? And don't tell me Phantom had nothing to do with it, or that none of you know him."

"All right - all right, my teammates knew him years ago, before he ever came to Perfection. He asked us to come here. But then your soldiers grabbed us before he could tell us anything!" Mack glared at her defiantly. "All we were doing was talking, and they attacked us and knocked us out. When I woke up, the Phantom was gone and so were my friends! I don't know what's going on with him or anything else on this damn planet and I don't care! _Where are my friends_?"

He saw nothing but suspicion and anger in Artemis' face for a moment - and then her expression abruptly softened into the hint of a smile. "You're telling the truth, aren't you?" She shook her head. "Perhaps my men were overeager, after all. You're obviously an off-worlder whom the Phantom tried unsuccessfully to involve in our private affairs." She turned away from Mack towards the door and raised her voice. "Tyr!"

It opened instantly and Tyr appeared with a quick "Yes, ma'am?" He must have had his ear plastered to the door, Mack thought wryly.

Artemis nodded at Mack. "I have decided the prisoner is innocent. He's free to go."

"What? But..."

"You heard me." She faced Mack again, this time with a warm, sweet smile that left him feeling slightly dazzled. "By the way, I don't know your name."

"It's - it's Mackenzie Hartford."

"An odd name, but nice. Feel free to stay as long as you wish on our planet, Mackenzie. I hope you'll forgive us for our unfriendly treatment of you."

"I - sure. Uh, thanks." Mack almost turned to go - and then remembered one small detail. "Wait, what about my friends?"

"Yes, the five humans who were with you. Since they are the ones who know the Phantom from the past, I'm afraid we must offer them our hospitality for a short time longer, until my security and intelligence people are satisfied that they are not working with him or Diana."

"But - they don't know anything more than I do!" Mack protested in alarm. "Why let me go and keep them?"

"Because they're human, and you're an android," she said with a trace of surprise, as if it should be obvious.

"What?! That's nothing but - but prejudice. You of all people should know how wrong that is!"

"You're shocked by my attitude?" She raised an elegant eyebrow. "I understand - humans created you, you've lived with them for all of your existence, and you feel a bond with them. Try to see it from my point of view. I don't know how much or how little the Phantom told you, but the truth is that the humans of this world have turned against us."

"From what I heard, they're only here because their ancestors helped you after you rebelled against _them_. You should be grateful!"

Artemis only shrugged, infuriatingly calm. "The virtues of the parents are not always seen in the child. The humans we live with now have done violent things, even the ones I - we - thought were our friends." Her voice grew bitter and hard. "People have died. Good people, who never harmed anyone. The peace of our society has been destroyed because a handful of humans refuses to accept their place in it."

"Maybe they shouldn't have to accept their 'place'," Mack retorted. "Either way, my friends had nothing to do with that."

"Probably not, but their natural tendency will be to sympathize with their own kind." She looked up into his face. "And to answer your question, that's why I'm letting you go. You're an android, one of us, and while I think you may have been misguided, I believe you mean us no harm."

Mack glanced at the open doorway that awaited him, and then turned back to her resolutely. "I'm not leaving without my friends."

Artemis looked amused. "If you wish, stay here by all means, but it will make no difference." She moved closer and reached out to rest a soft hand on his arm. "I understand your concern, but you have my word that your friends will not be harmed and will be released as soon as possible. Now - it's late. Come back tomorrow and I'll try to arrange a visit. Agreed?"

Mack didn't like it, but he knew he had little choice. Maybe there would be something he could do if he was free - like find the Phantom and find out what the hell he had gotten all of them into. "All right," he said, nodding. He started for the door and turned back just long enough to add, "I'll be back tomorrow."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Artemis said, again standing before the fireplace with arms crossed.

- x -

While he had been looking into Artemis' beautiful face it had been so easy to believe her, but by the time Mack reached the street and looked up at the night sky he had realized that it might not be a good idea to find the Phantom immediately and in person, as he had intended. He had decided to transport back to the Megaship and see if DECA could help, and was trying to find a dark spot to transport from without being seen, when his quarry came to him.

"Mack Hartford," a disembodied voice said softly in the shadows of an alley.

"Huh? Phantom?" Mack turned and stared in the direction of the voice, and for a moment saw that strange blurring of the air again. It transformed into the face and cloaked form of the Phantom for just a moment, and then faded back into invisibility.

"Yes. Where are the others?"

"I think they're in some place called the Fortress. That's where those soldiers who captured us said they were taking them."

"Artemis' prison for rebellious humans. How did you get out?"

"She let me go."

There was a slight pause, and then, "Why? Why you?"

"Well..." Mack swallowed, but this was no time for secrets. Besides, Phantom of all people should understand. "Because I'm an android. She said I'm one of them, so she doesn't think I'd harm them."

A longer pause, and when Phantom spoke again his voice was low and deep with anger. "You're an android?! Do you have any idea what you've done by not telling me? They detected you with their scanners, an android leaving the city with a group of humans! My signals are blocked, they can't see me, but they picked _you_ up and sent the city police! _You're_ the reason Cassie and the others were captured!"

"Me??" But - it made a horrible amount of sense, after Artemis' remarks about the Phantom evading their sensors. "Me?! Look, I'm sorry, but I didn't know!"

"You didn't know." Phantom's voice dripped with sarcasm. "A lot of good that does now!"

"Fine, it's all my fault," Mack snapped. "Except that you might have told us what was going on before we transported down here! Then maybe I would have had a reason to tell you!"

Phantom took an audible deep breath. "Okay, point taken. Sorry. I've been going crazy out here, wondering what happened - barely escaped them myself - turned invisible when they hit me - I was dazed, crawled away and found a place to hide - I brought you guys here; I should have saved her - all of them..." Phantom's voice had gone from angry to miserable.

"It's not your fault either. What we should be talking about is how to get them out of there."

"Agreed." An invisible hand clamped on Mack's wrist, startling him. "Come on. There are some friends of mine - they need to know about this."

"Wait!" Mack pulled back. "That must be why Artemis let me go - they can follow me, and she wants me to lead them to you and your friends. They probably know where we are right now."

"No doubt. Call the Megaship and ask Alpha to teleport us to the location I give him." He could hear the smirk in Phantom's voice. "Maybe it's time the androids of Perfection learned that humans aren't as helpless as they think."

- x -

"I still think we're taking a big chance," Mack said a few minutes later as they materialized on a grassy, windswept hilltop under a sky thick with stars. The planet's moon had set, and it was darker than before, and chilly. He resisted the urge to shiver, knowing that the sensation of cold he felt was only a programmed imitation of human reactions.

"Not as big as you think. This rendezvous point is shielded from scanner detection, just as I am." Phantom was visible now. He threw back his cloak and looked around them expectantly. "There should be someone here on guard."

"There is. Nice of you to join us, Phantom." The voice came from a rock formation a couple of yards away. "Who's your friend?" Mack peered and made out the form of a man, human, dark-skinned and in black clothing, standing just near enough to the stone outcropping to duck behind it if attacked, holding a rifle-like weapon - and aiming it straight at Mack.

"This is Mack Hartford, one of the Rangers from the Astro Megaship."

The man's voice was even but cold as steel. "He's an android."

Phantom's was just as unyielding. "So am I - and I'm vouching for him."

There was silence for a few moments as they stared at each other, and as Mack wondered what would happen if the guard decided against him. Finally the man lowered his weapon a fraction and said grudgingly, "All right, I'll take you inside. Whether you get out again..." He shrugged and backed away from the rocks, still aiming not quite directly at Mack. "Keep your hands where I can see them, and no sudden moves."

"Nice friends you've got here," Mack muttered under his breath as Phantom led him forward into a narrow space between two boulders where he could see the dark opening of what looked like a tunnel.

"Just wait 'til you meet Diana."

- x -

Mack wasn't quite sure what he had expected. After twenty minutes of being marched at gunpoint through a dark, dank tunnel smelling of earth, leading to a series of caves which showed increasing signs of occupancy, finally they had emerged into a cavern large enough to hold a considerable number of people, crude electric lights strung along the walls casting harsh shadows over a floor leveled with packed dirt, and furnished with rough wooden chairs and tables. For the second time that night he found himself surrounded by armed guards and facing the person in charge. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it wasn't a lanky young woman dressed in something resembling rumpled fatigues a size too large, with a girlish, freckled face and a mop of sandy hair falling in her eyes that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days, if not weeks. She blinked at him, whether in surprise or because she had been gotten out of bed in the middle of the night, he couldn't tell.

"Hello, Phantom," she said in a pleasant voice, her eyes still on Mack. "You didn't tell us one of your Ranger friends was an android."

"At the time, I didn't know. He's not a Perfection android, not even Edenite. This is Mack Hartford, from Earth."

"From Earth." She came a little closer, eying Mack with more than a hint of suspicion. He noticed she was careful not to get between him and any of her guards' weapons. "He's not one of the names you mentioned."

"Well, no. He joined the Rangers recently," Phantom admitted. "But I do know the other Astro Rangers, and I trust both them and anyone they brought into the team."

"Hmm." She finished her examination of Mack and frowned. "So what you're saying is that your old friends - whom you haven't seen for ten years - have only met this android recently. You've never met him yourself before today, am I right?"

"Diana..."

Her voice was low but sharp as she cut him off. "He looks human - too human. How do you know he's not from right here on Perfection? How do you know Artemis hasn't sent him to spy on us? Do you really expect us to trust him?" She turned cold eyes on Phantom. "Or to go on trusting you, if you can be tricked so easily? If you _were_ tricked."

"I don't think I deserve that." Despite his calm words Phantom was angry; his eyes narrowed as he took a step towards her, ignoring the guards as a couple of them moved to cut him off and a few others shifted their aim to him. Diana raised a hand and they backed off. "Diana - all of you - how long have I been your friend? Five years, at least? How many times have I risked my life to protect you? How much of the technology from my ship and my weaponry have I given you? And you still doubt my loyalty?"

"Loyalty can be a double-edged sword," Diana said softly. "Is it so strange we would doubt the sincerity of someone who sides with us against his own people?"

Phantom shook his head, his expression more sad than angry now. "I have _not_ turned against my fellow androids. I want to prevent a war which will only end in destruction for both sides. My loyalty is for both the humans who created me and the androids who re-created me. Diana - you should know that."

For a few more moments she seemed to waver, and then blew out a little breath and smiled. "I'm sorry, my friend. Yes, I trust you. But him..."

"I can speak for myself," Mack said as the Phantom seemed about to answer. "Yes, I'm an android, but I've got nothing to do with the ones on this planet. They've attacked me and taken me prisoner, locked up my teammates and won't let them go - and Artemis suspected me of being a spy for _you_ guys."

"Really?" Diana asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, but she said you were too clever to make an android as imperfect-looking as me."

Diana stared at him for a moment as Mack realized how offended he had sounded, and then began to laugh. Phantom joined in, most of the guards smiled, and even Mack found himself chuckling. As they all quieted down, he realized that the tension in the room had ebbed - well worth a laugh at his expense.

"That certainly sounds like Artemis," Diana said. "Which makes me think you really were her prisoner. And we've gotten reports of five humans who appeared from nowhere being imprisoned in the Fortress."

"Yes, my friends. She only let me go so I could lead them right to the Phantom and to you," Mack said. "Using the Megaship's transporter and your shielding threw them off the track - but now what are they going to do to my teammates?"

"There are many Ranger teams, on many worlds." Diana glanced at the Phantom with a faint smile. "Don't worry. Artemis won't be happy about it, but she won't dare to harm your friends, or to keep them imprisoned for long. Probably the only reason she kept them at all was because she knew you'd contact Phantom for help." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Let's say I believe you - for now. We will talk."

- x -

A few minutes later Mack, Phantom, and Diana were seated around a rough wooden table with a platter of bread, a sort of greenish cheese, and a few pieces of fruit being set on it. The woman who had brought it left silently as Mack eyed the food and decided not to take any - while he felt hunger, enjoyed eating, and used food for energy, he didn't need nourishment the same way organic humans did, and these people looked like they didn't have a lot to spare. He noticed Phantom also took nothing. The guards had retreated to the far reaches of the cavern, giving them privacy but still with weapons at the ready. Phantom briefly related the events of the night, with Mack's help, while Diana nibbled on a round, pink fruit.

"If you don't mind," Mack asked when their story was finished, "I still don't understand exactly what's going on here. It sounds like you have a bad situation, but why are you so concerned about a war now?"

"You can tell it better than I can," Phantom said to Diana. "Unless you'd rather not talk about it."

"It's something that needs to be told," she said quietly and pushed away the remains of her food. "Not a pleasant story, but I suspect not an unusual one." Her eyes looked past them into something only she could see, a trace of pain running over her face and disappearing.

"I suppose it began when our ancestors landed here and settled down to live as equals with their android friends. Judging by the history texts, all was well for the first generation or so. We worked together, and respected each other's abilities. But slowly the androids began to change. Maybe it was boredom - this planet is hospitable, and there were few challenges for beings who had spent their previous lives in conflict - maybe they were trying to live up to the name they had given it - Perfection. In either case, they began to turn their efforts to themselves, to improving themselves. A redesign, more speed, more strength, more intelligence, but most of all the 'correction' of any cosmetic imperfection. They became obsessed with beauty, while losing sight of the other qualities any thinking creature should have. As they began to look more and more different from us, they began to see in us only the flaws they thought they had left behind, and only the past they wanted to forget. They began to resent us, to exclude us, and to assign us the role they had once had on Edenoi - of inferiors and servants."

Diana sighed, and Mack saw her fingers curl on the table before her. "Humans don't take kindly to being second-class citizens. Several groups formed to advance human rights, some peacefully, some - more aggressively. The largest movement was headed by me and my brother, Seth. We tried to work within the system by placing human representation into the government and by appealing to those androids who sympathized with us. At that time there were many who helped us, including Artemis herself.

"But there was a faction that was impatient with such slow methods. They wanted to make a statement - with violence. Without our knowledge they planted a powerful bomb in the building where the government's highest officials met." She paused for a moment, eyes downcast. "I honestly don't know if they intended to harm anyone. There were some rumors that the timer malfunctioned. I don't know, and I suppose it doesn't matter in terms of their guilt. The bomb went off in the early evening, with twelve androids still at work in their offices. They were destroyed beyond repair."

"That was about an Earth year ago," Phantom said. "It started a massive investigation - a hunt, really, that quickly went beyond the humans who had committed the crime and became an effort to imprison everyone involved in the human rights movement."

"We were all presumed guilty," Diana said. "My brother, Seth, was among the first to be arrested when he voluntarily turned himself in as a gesture of good will. He disappeared, along with many others. I don't even know if he, or any of them, is alive or dead."

"The movement members have been hiding out, here and in other places," Phantom continued when Diana stopped. "There's a lot of anger. The rest of the human population is afraid. Anger and fear breed hatred, and with the weapons they've built and the sensor-shielding technology they've developed... the situation has come close to war."

"I see," Mack said, his eyes on Diana's pale face. "But you don't want that, do you?"

"Is it something anyone actually wants? No, I don't, but unless Artemis will talk to us, until she stops treating all of us as murderers, I don't see how to stop it."

Mack leaned towards her. "You think talking to her would help?"

"I don't know. Maybe. For all her stubbornness and her bias against us, Artemis isn't stupid. Once, before all this, she and I were good friends and worked together for our cause. Then the bombing, and she lost several people she was close to - and took my brother in revenge. If I could only make her see how unreasonable she's being, make her see how dangerous this is for androids as well as humans..."

It was just an idea, just the beginnings of a plan, but Mack smiled. "I'm supposed to go back to see her tomorrow. Maybe there's a chance we could take advantage of that."

Phantom looked interested; Diana looked skeptical. "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

- x -

It was midmorning when Mack stood again before the high, arched entrance of Artemis' Castle, and he was grateful for his android ability to go without sleep. He had to admire Diana's stamina; when he had last seen her she had looked as fresh and alert as if she had gotten a full night's rest instead of spending hours talking and planning with them. She'd need all the strength she had - they all would.

The guards on duty inside the courtyard seemed to be expecting him. Without any sign of surprise two of them came forward and one scanned him with a small instrument, probably checking for weapons. Fortunately it didn't react to his Tracker. By the time that was done, his old friend Tyr had appeared from a door leading inside, a scowl marring his perfectly handsome face. With a jerk of his head and a grudging command to follow, he led the way inside and down a corridor, perhaps the same one Mack had been taken through before.

It was the same room, only embers glowing in the fireplace now as sunlight streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows. This time Artemis was wearing a clingy midnight blue outfit with flowing sleeves. She kept her back turned as Mack entered and as Tyr left and closed the door after a last fierce glare. Then she turned and stared coldly.

"Did you have a good night?" she asked.

"It was fine." Mack wondered if she would actually confront him and admit that she had tried to have him followed.

"You disappeared from our scans. Where did you go?" Apparently she would.

"How do you know I didn't return to our ship?" Mack countered.

Artemis smiled tightly and stepped slowly forward. "But you didn't, did you? We picked up a transporter signature. You never left the planet; you transferred outside the city - but before we could get an exact location we lost the signal. Thanks to the Phantom and his human friends, no doubt. Congratulations, you outmaneuvered us. For now."

"After you tricked me and tried to use me."

Her smile widened but didn't quite reach her eyes. "Did you expect anything else? This isn't a game, Mackenzie. Tell me, what did you think of Diana?"

Caught off-balance, he shrugged. "She seemed - smart. Strong. Trying to do the right thing the best she knows how. A lot like you."

To his satisfaction, that obviously surprised her. "Like me?" She smirked. "I'm not sure whether to be insulted or flattered."

"It's meant as a compliment."

"I won't thank you. I suppose she told you all about how we androids are persecuting the humans of this planet. About the bombing gone tragically wrong, and how we're unjustly imprisoning her brother and the other innocent people who were part of their group."

"You admit they're innocent?" Mack demanded.

"Perhaps they weren't directly involved in the bombing, but the entire group protected the ones who were guilty. They did their best to block our investigation and conceal evidence. Did she tell you that part?"

"Well..."

Artemis smiled again, unpleasantly, and crossed her arms. "I'm impressed that you came back today, after hearing about what tyrants we are. Loyalty to your friends, I suppose. Are you loyal enough to trade their freedom for information - like the location of Diana's headquarters? Or what they use to block our scans?"

Mack scowled at her. "I'm not handing Phantom and those people over to you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then your friends--"

"My friends and I are Rangers. Harm us and you'll have to answer to every Ranger team in this sector, plus the government on KO-35."

He caught a flash of anger in Artemis' face before she hid it. "Very clever, aren't you? Or maybe not. I could dispose of you and your friends and make it look like an accident - or even put the blame on the humans." She came closer, face to face with Mack as he tried not to betray dismay, holding his gaze as she added softly, "I could, but I won't. Take that with you as you and your friends go, and leave us to settle our problems ourselves."

"Sorry, but I can't do that." Mack took a deep breath and stared into her eyes as he said, "We decided that the only chance of ending this is for the people who can do something about it to talk. Really talk. And for Phantom and me to make sure you do it."

Artemis looked puzzled - and a hint of apprehension crossed her face. "What do you mean?"

"He means us."

The voice came from a few feet away, in the center of the room. Artemis' eyes widened; the flash of both fury and fear in them sent a twinge of guilt through Mack before she turned to look in its direction. The air blurred, hazed, two shadowy forms solidified from it and seemed to step into reality - and the Phantom Ranger and Diana were standing before them. Artemis fell back a step and whirled for the door, but Mack was ready and blocked her path.

"If you call the guards we'll transport out and take you with us," Mack said quickly. "You're going to talk to Diana - whether it's here or in her headquarters is up to you. I'm sorry, but this was the only way."

"We're not here to harm you," Phantom said. "We just want to talk. Just give us an hour and we'll leave."

"You've broken in here - tricked me - why the hell would I do what you want?"

"Because you have no choice. Our scanner shielding and Phantom's invisibility got us here, right into the heart of your Castle," Diana said. "You haven't been able to figure out how we do it. Think about what that means before you make any decisions. If it comes to a fight, humans aren't the only ones who will suffer."

"We'll capture one of your shielding devices sooner or later," Artemis retorted. "We'll crack it, and we'll improve on it. Our technology is superior to yours."

"Is it? Did you know we also have body armor to protect against your electronic pulse blasters, and a new type of laser shock weapon? What new inventions or discoveries have _you_ come up with in the last two hundred years? You're better at improving what's already there - but humans are inventive and you're not. You know it's true, Artemis; you used to say it yourself."

"We're stronger. We outnumber you, and we have more resources. We'll still win."

"I know. That's why I've taken the risk of coming here." Diana paused a moment and added, "Do you remember something else you used to say - that the humans and the androids of this planet need each other? That we each have unique qualities to bring to this world?"

"Did I?" Artemis' voice had softened, and her expression had calmed. "I used to say a lot of things, didn't I? Until your people started killing mine and you did nothing to bring them to justice."

"That's something most of us regret almost as much as you do. But can you blame us for wondering how much justice the people who did it would get, and how much would be revenge, especially after you started imprisoning the innocent along with the guilty?" Again Diana paused as Artemis did not answer. "We were friends once," she continued finally. "I don't want more death, on either side, and I think you don't either. We can do this, if we work together."

For a few long moments there was quiet as Mack wondered if they had made any impression at all. Artemis' coldly beautiful face gave nothing away; her eyes were steady on Diana, her body still, with none of the nervous movements a human might make. Glancing at Diana he saw that same stillness, that same concentration, as if the two of them were still communicating in some silent duel of wills. Finally...

"No one wants more violence," Artemis said. "Let us talk."

- x -

_"We're on a planet full of androids, thousands of them, built by the same people who built Alpha. Funny, they named the planet Perfection, I guess because they thought a world run by androids would be perfect - but they ended up with all the same problems people always seem to run into, like looking down on anyone who's different. Of course, the humans here haven't exactly been perfect themselves. I guess I sort of was expecting that if I did find other androids, let alone a whole bunch of them, that they would be different - smarter, or wiser, or better, or something - but after a while I don't even think about who's an android here and who's human. They're all really the same. (Except the androids look good like whoah. You should see them, Dad. Long story.) It's still kind of a tense situation here, but at least the two sides have been talking and made some progress. Artemis and Diana, the leaders of the androids and the humans, are both pretty cool and I think they're going to do okay. _

_The Phantom Ranger is an android too - another long story - and he was the one who asked us to come here. That didn't turn out too well at first - the other Rangers got captured and locked up - but it was only for a day and then Artemis let them go. That was when I finally told them I'm an android. Andros gave me a lecture about keeping secrets from the team, Ashley kissed me on the cheek and said it's no big deal, and T.J. and Carlos want me to help them meet android girls. Cassie and Phantom had a thing for each other back on Earth, and they were too busy gazing into each other's eyes and holding hands to notice anything else was going on._

_We're planning to stay here another month or two, and then go back to KO-35 for a while. After that we're off to Mercuria for Tyzonn and Vella's wedding. Strange, I really didn't like this place at all at first, but now I think I'm going to miss it. I guess that's all for now, Dad. Write soon and let me know what's happening - I miss you a lot, and Spencer, and everything back home on Earth._

_Love,_

_Mack"_

Home. Andrew was a little surprised at how much it pleased him to see that word in Mack's letter. Even after finally finding a place where he could fit in without the loneliness of being an android among humans - Mack still thought of Earth as home.

He glanced up at the clock. Spencer was scheduled to pick him up that afternoon, in about four hours, and he had already said his goodbyes - all except one, the one whose finality he was most reluctant to face. There was time to start writing his next letter to Mack, plenty of time. He picked up a pen and fished in a drawer for paper.

The eternal question - where to start? There was so much to tell - and so much he would rather not give the added reality of words on paper. Where to start - not with what had happened to throw a pall of sadness over S.P.D.; he wanted to put that off as long as possible. No, with Rose, just as this chapter of his life had started with Rose and in a few hours would end with her. Start with her arrival at SPD. He bent over the paper and began to write.

TBC...


	6. Less Than Perfect, part II

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

**A/N:** Again, the SPD storyline here is compatible with my slash story _Turns in the Road_, and this time Wes and Eric make a cameo appearance. Blink and you'll miss them.

**Less Than Perfect, part II**

**_July 2010, Planet Mercuria_**

It was a nice night for a wedding, mild and bright. Mack was leaning against the wall of Tyzonn's house, watching a particularly skillful couple wind their way through the elaborate figures of the traditional Mercurian wedding dance and feeling pleasantly tired, enjoying the music and the cool breeze that carried a faint hint of exotic flowers. He had begged off from joining in on the festivities, truthfully pleading ignorance of the steps, and was content to stay in his shadowed corner and observe for a while longer. He was so absorbed in the dance and in his thoughts that a tap on his shoulder startled him. A quick look around showed it was Andros who had appeared at his side.

"What's up?" Mack asked. "I thought you and Ashley went back to the Megaship a couple of hours ago."

"We did. This letter had been delivered to the ship, and I thought I would give it to you now, in case it's important." Andros held out an envelope.

"Must be from Dad." Mack took it eagerly, a glance confirming that it was from his father. "Thanks, Andros."

Andros turned his head to scan the assorted guests still scattered around the large garden behind the house, and smiled as he nodded at Tyzonn and Vella whirling into a complicated dance step. "It was an interesting ceremony," he said. "I'm glad Tyzonn invited all of us. I think the others had a good time."

"I sure did." Mack grinned. "Mercurians know how to throw a party. According to Ty they'll be up all night."

"Not us. Ashley's resting, and everyone else has returned to the ship." Andros looked at him. "Will you be staying long?"

"A little while. I want to say goodbye to Tyzonn and Vella. They're leaving at dawn so I won't have a chance after tonight."

"Very well. I'll say goodnight now, then."

"'Night," Mack said absently, opening the letter as Andros stepped away, murmured into his morpher, and disappeared in the twinkle of a transporter beam. He moved into a patch of stronger light and began to read.

_"Dear Mack,_

_I hope you are doing well and are safe. The planet you described in your last letter sounds very interesting, and you must have found it a fascinating experience to meet other androids like yourself. It sounds like you discovered they're not so very different from humans after all._

_I have a lot to tell you about events here, some of it not very pleasant. It's hard to know where to start or what to say, but I'll do the best I can._

_Rose arrived here at S.P.D. a couple of weeks after I wrote you the last time, and of course she made a very valuable addition to the research team. It was good to see her again, although I sometimes wished circumstances were different, and remembered our summer over a year ago when we were working together to make those nanorobots. This time - things were good, mostly, but it wasn't the same."_

- - -

**_June 2009_**

Andrew watched the limo pull up to the entrance to the S.P.D. building, trying to catch a glimpse of the small, dark-haired, pretty young woman he knew was inside. He waited while she paid the driver, while she climbed out and looked around uncertainly, and while her suitcases were unloaded from the trunk. Then finally he put a welcoming smile on his face and went out through the door to greet her.

"Rose," he said, reaching out for a handshake, feeling only an echo of the hugs they had shared in the past. "Or should I call you Dr. Ortiz now?"

Her smile at his mention of her newly earned doctorate was self-conscious, almost shy. Was she feeling as awkward as he was? "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that. Let's stick with Rose."

"It's good to see you. I'm glad you decided to join us for the summer."

"So am I. It should be an interesting experience, going by what you told me."

"I certainly hope so." He bent to take her suitcase as she lifted a smaller bag and a laptop carrying case. "I'll take you to your room, and then introduce you to Dr. Manx and show you around."

"Thanks, that would be nice."

They almost ran into Joel and Angela as they went though the entrance doors. Andrew opened his mouth for introductions, but Joel caught sight of Rose and grinned, sweeping off his ever-present cowboy hat with a little bow and instantly going into flirting mode. "Well, hel_lo_. You must be Rose Ortiz."

"That's right. And you must be Joel Rawlings. I've heard about you." Rose smiled and shook hands.

"All good, I'm sure."

"Don't be so optimistic, Joel," Angela said and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Angela Rawlings. Welcome to the madhouse."

"Sounds like fun," Rose said. Her smile was more genuine than the one _he_ had gotten, Andrew observed. Only to be expected, of course.

"I guess you'll be meeting with Kat next," Angela said with a glance at Andrew. "Don't let her put you to work before you get the tour."

"I'll try."

Andrew led the way across the lobby towards the living quarters located in a wing in back of the main S.P.D. headquarters, past a scale model of an oddly designed, blocky building in a display case on a stand near the wall. The tap of Rose's footsteps following him stopped, and he paused to look back.

"What's this?" she asked, nodding at the model.

He put the suitcase down and joined her. "In a few years it'll be the new headquarters building, larger than this place, and with expanded facilities for research and training, especially as we get further along in our Ranger program and start recruiting."

"Interesting looking."

"It is, isn't it?" They both looked up to see that Nick had come up behind them. He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Nick Tate, one of the scientific team here. You must be Rose."

"Yes. Pleased to meet you."

"Nick is also our first Ranger," Andrew added.

"Really?" Rose looked at Nick with more interest.

He grinned. "I don't know if I'd say that exactly, at least not yet. I'm only using a prototype based on the Time Force Red suit for now, but we're working on new ones." He indicated the building model again. "And this is going to be something new, too. We're designing it with the capability to be mobile."

"The whole building?" Rose asked.

"Yep. It'll have a sort of tank-like mode, so it can move through the streets. And that's not all."

"What else?" Rose's eyes had that sparkle Andrew remembered so well, of curiosity and imagination.

"Well, we're also working on the possibility of transforming it into a zord someday."

"A zord?" Rose took a step closer to the glass, her fingers reaching to touch the surface lightly as if she wanted to take the model inside apart and see how the real thing would eventually work. "It would be so big... More powerful than anything we had in Overdrive."

"That's the idea," Andrew said.

She turned to him, eyes still so bright he had to smile. "This really is going to be fun. I can't wait to get started."

"Then let's get you settled in, and I'll give you that tour."

"Sounds like a good idea," Nick said, grinning at Andrew. "See you guys soon, right?"

It was a few minutes later, watching Rose explore her room and put away a few things, that Andrew decided the time was right to say something. The subtle discomfort and distance he felt between them couldn't last, not if they were going to be working together every day and living right down the hall from each other. Besides, he had the unsettling feeling that he owed her an apology.

"Rose..."

"Yes?"

It had seemed easier when he had imagined this situation and what he would say. Andrew tried to remember the words he had rehearsed in his imagination. "Look, I know things are kind of strange between us now. I'm sorry for that."

"Not your fault." She didn't look up, busy opening and closing the drawers in her dresser.

"But I could have handled things better. I never wanted to lose your friendship."

"My friendship?" Rose looked at him now, her expression open and unreserved for the moment. "You haven't lost that, and you never will."

"Good. I just... I just want things to be like they were between us."

"Like they were." She turned back to the empty dresser, running a hand over the top as if checking for dust. "Sure, no problem."

Her words were right, but the tone wasn't convincing. He said it again, for lack of anything else. "It was my fault. I should have realized what was going on earlier, or said things differently, or something."

"Stop apologizing!" The little flash of irritation was gone instantly as Rose turned around and faced him with a smile that looked only slightly forced. "It was me, not you. You were absolutely right; I was behaving like the worst kind of silly teenaged girl falling for the closest available man."

"I never thought you were silly."

"But I was. And you'll be happy to know I took your advice." She picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder before looking at him again. "I found guys my own age to date in London, and you were right about that, too. In fact, I'm seeing someone now. His name's Sean and he's teaching advanced mathematics at the University. Very smart. We might be getting serious."

"Oh." Andrew felt a shock of illogical disappointment - and the even more illogical sting of jealousy - and used all his self-control not to show it. "That's great. Really great. Glad to hear it."

"Shall we go?"

"Sure."

He held the door and fell into step with Rose, managing to keep a smile on his face. They had talked about what had happened; Rose had gotten past it and moved on to a relationship with a future, and that was good, wasn't it? So why did he feel bad? Bruised ego, no doubt - had he expected a girl like Rose to spend the rest of her life languishing over him? No, not a girl any more, not a teenager - a woman, twenty years old now. But still twenty years younger than he was.

They were all waiting in the team conference room as he had known they would be, all smiles and cries of greeting and welcome as Rose walked in and stopped with a gasp of surprise. Kat had even arranged snacks and coffee, and soon Rose was surrounded by Nick, Paul, Joel, Angela, and Michael, laughing at some joking remark. Andrew was reminded again of how like a family they had become, as he stood with a glass in his hand and watched from a little distance.

"She fits in already, doesn't she?" Kat said softly at his side.

"Yes, she does. I hope she'll like it here. I know she'll be a great addition to the team."

"I'm sure." Kat's eyes examined his face for a moment and then moved back to the others. "We'll have another addition soon."

"Someone else? Who?"

"One survivor was found on Sirius. As it happens, he was an officer in S.P.D. Central. Someone I knew during my time there, actually. He's requested a transfer to Earth Base and he'll be put in charge here. It's a good thing; I'll be freed up to concentrate on research and weapons development."

"I see." Andrew considered that. Another alien, and one with a history like that - having seen the destruction they were trying to stop first-hand, having lost his entire world. It brought home the seriousness of what they were here for, contrasting sharply with the laughter he heard from the other side of the room.

- - -

**_August 2009_**

While Andrew had never been in the military, he stood at what he hoped was close to attention as the rotor blades slowed to a stop and the door of the helicopter opened. Normally the addition of a new member of their team wouldn't have commanded such a reaction, let alone what amounted to an honor guard of S.P.D. officers and the full scientific staff, with Kat Manx at their head - but this particular addition was very special.

A large and bulky figure stirred inside the helicopter cabin, leaned forward, and climbed out, stepping down to the small landing pad on the S.P.D. building roof. There was an almost inaudible rustle of reaction from the scientists as he strode towards Kat. The navy-uniformed guards were too professional to move, but Andrew could see a few eyes widen.

Kat stepped forward and inclined her head in a formal nod to the tall, powerfully built, blue-furred, scaly-eared, dog-headed alien who faced them. "Welcome to S.P.D. Earth Base, Commander Cruger," she said.

"Thank you, Doctor Manx." His sharp brown eyes took in all of them. "I'm flattered by this greeting."

"We are all proud to have you here."

"Thank you again."

"I'd like to introduce our development team. Angela Fairweather-Rawlings, Joel Rawlings, Andrew Hartford, Rose Ortiz, Nicolas Tate, Michael Zaskin, and Paul Carson." She indicated each one.

"Pleased to meet you." Cruger nodded, the gesture given a sort of nobility by his massive head. "I'm anxious to get to work, and sure we will make a fine combination."

"There's a small reception we've arranged, but I can show you to your quarters first if you wish," Kat said.

"My quarters can wait. After the social formalities I'd like a briefing from you on your progress and a tour of the laboratory facilities, if no one objects."

"Of course."

"Wow," came a lowered voice from behind Andrew. "A cat lady and now a big blue dog," Joel went on. "What's next?"

"'There are stranger things in heaven and Earth than we can dream of in our philosophy'," Andrew murmured.

"Slightly misquoted, but you're right," Rose commented with a little smile.

"As another great poet said, I have a feeling we ain't seen nothin' yet," Nick added. "Come on, they're going inside."

Andrew was the last to move, watching Cruger and Kat go through the doors into the building. "Something wrong?" Rose asked, pausing as the others followed and left them behind.

He tried to shake himself out of the mood that had suddenly descended on him. "No. I guess it just hit me - Cruger's the only survivor from the fall of Sirius. He's lost everything, seen his whole world end, literally, and yet here he is on a new world, joining our team. I wonder: how many of us would be able to go on living and working under those circumstances? It's kind of humbling."

"You're right, of course. It puts things in perspective. Makes our personal concerns seem pretty trivial compared to what's going on out there." Rose looked up to the sky and then back at Andrew, her eyes holding his, more warmth in them than he had seen in months - a year - as she seemed to hesitate and then continued, "In fact, that's why I've decided to stay here after the summer's over."

"Really?" Andrew looked at her. "We could sure use your help. But what about your teaching job at the University?"

"I can skip a year. Working on the Ranger project is more important. You and the Rawlings are leaving in May; I can do a year here and leave then too. It would be enough time to finish up my robot assistant prototype and the preliminary designs for the Delta Base zord. After that, I can always go back to the University - or - or I might stay here in the States." Her gaze was still on his face, as if watching for his reaction.

The first thought in his head was happiness at the idea of more time with her - but the second was: "What about your boyfriend?"

"Right, my boyfriend." She looked away and shrugged slightly. "He understands how important this is to me. We'll work it out somehow."

Andrew almost let it drop, a part of him - a big part - hoping it wouldn't work out, and that... what? That Rose would fall for him all over again? Had his middle-aged male vanity really gotten that out of hand? Or maybe it was more like selfishness, when he knew all the same obstacles still stood between them. He should be thinking of Rose's happiness. "Long-distance relationships are hard to maintain," he said.

"I know." Rose was looking up at him again with that watchful expression, just a hint of something he couldn't identify under the surface.

"If you and Sean get along well, if you really like each other - it's not easy to find the right person. I'm just saying you should think about this before you take the risk."

"You want me to leave?"

"No, of course not. You're a big help to us. I'm just saying maybe you should talk this over with Sean, find out how he really feels. Maybe - maybe he could come here. We could use a mathematician; I could talk to Kat--"

"Don't bother." The warmth had gone from her eyes and her voice, as she faded back into the cool stranger who had arrived at S.P.D. two months before. "Sean wouldn't be interested. And don't worry, we can handle the separation just fine." She turned and walked quickly through the doors into the building.

Puzzled and disappointed, Andrew followed more slowly. Had he said something wrong again? Was he missing something? Did Rose still feel... and was that why she... But no, she had a boyfriend she said she was happy with, and anything else was only fantasy. Forget it, and concentrate on what Cruger's arrival had reminded him of - their work - the reason they were all there.

- - -

**_October 2009_**

"Happy birthday, Rose." Andrew raised his glass of wine and clinked it against hers across the small restaurant table. "And many more. This is one of the big ones, isn't it?"

"Yes, twenty-one," Rose answered. Her eyes flickered up to his face with a spark of teasing irony. "I'm a real grown-up now."

"Don't be so happy. This is when you stop wishing you were older, and in a few more years you'll be wishing you were younger."

"Hasn't happened yet." Another glance, with an eyebrow raised almost challengingly, before she took a sip of her first legal alcoholic drink - and made a face before setting it down.

This was far from the first time they had had dinner together in the last months, but it was still a special occasion. Up to now it had been meals in the cafeteria, occasionally with Kat and Cruger but usually alone, only natural since they were the only human team members who were single and living in the residential annex. The first time had been when Andrew saw Rose eating alone and hesitantly asked if she minded company. The next had been a few days later, when it was her asking to join him. Soon it had been almost every evening. It had been a little awkward at first, with both of them fencing around their history and hiding behind talk about work, but the tension had faded and they had fallen back into something close to the easy companionship of their summer together.

The occasion of her birthday had seemed to demand more, and Andrew had offered to take her out to dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate. He hadn't been at all sure she would accept, but she had. It had seemed so much like a date when he knocked on her room door dressed in a suit, and when she had opened it and appeared in a soft gray dress; he had had to remind himself quite sternly that it wasn't, and of such inconveniences as their age difference and her boyfriend.

"So, what do you think," Rose said between bites of her salad, "about a unicycle?"

"A unicycle?" Andrew asked in surprise. "You mean for a personal Ranger vehicle?"

"Duh, yeah."

"What would be the advantage?"

Her eyes brightened. "Maneuverability. It could turn on a dime, much faster than a conventional vehicle, including in narrow spaces where a motorcycle would have to back up."

"It would also be unstable."

"Not with gyros and automatic stabilizers. And as Ronny would say..." Rose put a look of awestruck joy on her face and said in a fair imitation of the former Yellow Ranger, "That baby would so _rock_!"

Andrew laughed. "Yeah, too bad she can't be here to test drive everything we're working on."

"Are you kidding?" Rose grinned. "She'd never let Nick, or anyone else, get their hands on any of the stuff. Not that I'd blame her; last time we spoke she said racecars looked pretty dull after driving zords for almost a year."

"Do you miss it?" Andrew asked after a moment.

As he knew she would, she understood exactly what he meant. "Well, sure, sometimes. Being a Ranger was exciting, and working on the equipment was a great challenge. It was fun, and I learned a lot. Not just about robotics, either." Rose smiled. "But in a way I'm glad it's over. There's a lot to be said for normal life, too. As normal as life gets at S.P.D.," she added with a laugh, and looked up. "How about you?"

"Do I miss the team, the others? Of course. Do I miss the excitement? Sometimes... But you're right. At some point it's good to come back to real life. And I have to say my real life's a lot more relaxed without the fate of the planet hanging over me."

"And yet here you are, working to help a Ranger team that doesn't exist yet."

"I guess it's ironic." Andrew shrugged, smiling. "Or just my luck."

"You must miss Mack." Rose was watching him now, her expression more serious and sympathetic. "Have you heard from him lately?"

"Not since the letter a few weeks before you got here, when he had joined the Space Ranger team."

"Mack always wanted adventure in faraway places, and he sure got his wish. Did he sound happy?" Rose's eyes were bright.

"Yeah, it sounded like he's having a great time." Andrew paused for a sip of wine. "Sometimes I kind of envy him, being out there and seeing places and things most people can't even dream of."

"So do I, in a way. But I have plenty to keep me down to Earth. I happen to like my everyday life here, and there are people I wouldn't want to leave for long." Rose's eyes held his for only a second before she continued, "My family. My friends."

"I know what you mean. Too bad you couldn't be with your parents today."

"At least I got to talk to them, and I can't complain about the gift they sent." Rose laughed. "The Complete Book of Robotics Actuator and Sensor Design on CD-ROM. Just what I always wanted."

He hesitated, wondering whether it was something he had the right to ask, but curiosity prompted him - or maybe it had an element of jealousy too. "Did your boyfriend call too? Or send you something?"

"Right, Sean." She smiled in a way that impressed him as evasive, and shrugged. "We celebrated in our own way."

Meaning what? But Andrew wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know, and he was quite sure it would be a mistake to ask for an explanation. Instead he returned her smile and said, "Glad to hear it," and told himself he meant it.

- - -

**_January 2010_**

"Three... Two... One... Happy New Year!"

Laughter and cheers filled the scientific conference room at S.P.D. as the wall clock's second hand swept past '12' and into the new year of 2010. Andrew raised his plastic cup of champagne in salute and then downed half of it. It was sweet and not even close to the quality Spencer would have served at the mansion, but he had no complaints as he looked at the happy faces surrounding him.

They had made a party of it, all of the team agreeing that they had been working hard enough to deserve a little blowing off of steam, so everyone had pitched in to decorate the room with balloons and ribbons, and to bring refreshments. Nick Tate, Paul Carson, and Michael Zaskin had brought their wives; Joel and Angela were there of course, along with Andrew and Rose. Taxis would be paid for if anybody needed one. It was a night to relax, and they were all certainly doing that. Even Kat Manx and Commander Cruger had come and were at least pretending to have a good time, even if Andrew suspected they found the celebration to be just another strange Earth human quirk.

As if reading his mind, Joel and Nick converged on the two aliens. "Come on, Kat, Commander," Joel said, holding out two fresh cups of champagne. "You have to drink to the new year. It's tradition."

Kat shrugged and took hers. "I will drink if it is tradition. However, it seems a waste since alcohol has no effect on my metabolism."

Doggie glared at the cup and frowned. "It has an effect on mine. It makes me ill. No, thank you."

"No getting sick allowed during the party," Nick said with a grin. He grabbed the offending drink from Joel. "Just means more for me!"

Andrew chuckled and turned his attention back to the small group gathered around him as Lyn Tate asked Michael Zaskin, "I hope Heather didn't mind babysitting Sky and Bridge tonight instead of coming along."

"For the exorbitant amount you're paying her? She'd much rather be able to afford a new computer game than watch her old man getting plastered," Michael said, a grin betraying pride in his daughter.

"She deserves hazard pay for watching those two," Paul Carson said. "Kids that age are already hard to control, and when you add in Bridge and Sky's talents..."

"Bridge and Sky? What'd they do now?" Nick asked as he and Joel joined them.

"Nothing. Yet," Paul said ominously.

"Good, I think. Anyway, everyone be quiet. Doggie's about to make a speech." Nick turned back to where Cruger was indeed stepping into the middle of the room to face all of them.

"Stop calling him _Doggie_," Rose protested in a half-whisper. "That's very disrespectful."

"It's not disrespectful; it's affectionate. I love dogs."

Cruger cleared his throat loudly as there were a few smothered laughs. After a last sharp glance at Nick and Rose, who were both looking conspicuously innocent, he began.

"I have been with you on Earth for over five months now, and it has been a productive and satisfying experience. You have accomplished much, but there is much more to be accomplished. This is the beginning of a new Earth year, and there will be changes and new challenges to come with it." Cruger paused for a moment and then continued in a slightly less formal tone.

"We'll be losing some of you in the next year as you return to your normal lives. We'll gain others even before then, as more beings from other planets come here to join the fight against Gruumm. Some of them, like Dr. Manx and myself, will be refugees from the ongoing battle who wish to make a stand here. Unfortunately, as Earth becomes more known in the galaxy, it will also attract beings whose motives are not so favorable. Much of S.P.D.'s mission in the years to come will be controlling and combating extra-terrestrial criminals."

He nodded at Nick. "With this new year Nicolas Tate will become publicly active as the first S.P.D. Red Ranger, and I suspect this city will need his protection all too soon. There are difficult and dangerous times ahead for all of us. We must and will be prepared. That is all."

"Wow," Joel muttered. "Bummer."

"Do you think he's right?" Rose asked a few minutes later. The party had broken up into smaller, quieter groups; the Tates and Carsons, the Zaskins with Kat, leaving them with Angela and Joel. Cruger had disappeared.

"Was Joel right about Cruger's speech?" Angela said with a twinkle. "Hell yeah, the guy sure knows how to kill a party."

"No." Rose poked her arm as Joel grinned. "You know what I mean."

Andrew sighed. "Yes, I think Doggie - uh, Cruger - is right. Kat has reason to push us to work fast. We're going to see trouble sooner rather than later."

"But we can handle it, right?" Rose was smiling at him with both confidence and a faith he found quite touching.

"Of course we can."

"You know what I think?" Joel asked. "I think this party needs some loud music and dancing." A moment later he was adjusting the volume on the CD player he had brought as his party contribution until an old rock number was vibrating the air. Then he returned and held out a hand to his wife, and whirled her into the open space in the middle of the room where Nick and Lyn quickly joined them.

"Eat, drink, and be merry," Rose said softly, with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. "For tomorrow we..."

"Don't say it; we've had enough bummers for one night. Let's dance."

- - -

They had both had just a little too much champagne when Andrew escorted Rose to her door, only a few yards down the hall from his own, or at least he thought that explained the way everything seemed so beautiful and perfect at that moment in the late night stillness of the empty hallway, alone together, still warm with the memory of Rose in his arms in the slow dance that had ended the party, looking down into her face and daring to lean close, both of them still smiling over some silly remark he couldn't even remember.

"Goodnight," he said, vaguely wishing he could think of some excuse for the evening not to end. "Happy New Year."

"'Night, Andrew. It was a lot of fun."

Rose made no attempt to open her door or move away. Andrew felt as if he was drawn into the dark eyes gazing so intently into his, and began to bend his head down to her, close enough to imagine he could feel the warmth of her body and smell the faint clean scent of her hair. Was he going to kiss her? And was she inviting him? Her face lifted, her lips slightly parted, promising to be as soft and warm as he remembered so vividly.

But - that damned cold thread of rationality and caution stopped him. While their age difference no longer seemed as all-important as it once had, he was still older by a good margin and had the obligation to at least act as if he was more mature. Much as he'd like to, he couldn't give in to his desires and sweep Rose into his arms - and everything that stood between them, including the small detail of her boyfriend, under the rug. There was too much chance they would both regret it later.

So he stepped back and took her hand instead, wondering if he saw disappointment in her eyes for just a moment.

- - -

**_April 2010_**

"Commander Cruger has a few things to say to all of you before we prepare for the press conference this afternoon. But first, I want to show you something." Kat's voice sounded slightly hoarse, and she looked tired and worn - the only time since the fall of Sirius that Andrew had seen her seeming anything but indestructibly young and strong. She had hinted now and then that she came from a very long-lived species, and on this day he could see the tracks of many years and the echoes of remembered tragedies in her eyes.

With a gesture she led them - Joel and Angela, the Zaskins, the Carsons, Rose, Cruger, and Andrew himself - across the S.P.D. lobby, their footsteps echoing emptily. The building was locked down, the only other people in sight were uniformed S.P.D. guards at the doors, keeping the crowd of reporters and onlookers they had passed through a few minutes before at bay. They collected around the display case in the back, where the model of S.P.D's new proposed headquarters had been covered by a drape. With no preliminaries, Kat pulled it off.

The model was different. It had always been an odd-looking structure, and now it was topped by the figure of a dog's head, teeth bared, seeming to look out at them the way the full-sized version would one day look out over the city it would protect. Andrew quickly looked at Cruger, who stared at it with no visible reaction, and then back to Kat.

"This is our tribute to the people of Sirius," she said softly. "The redesign was done before - before our recent events, but this seems like an appropriate time to reveal it. Now it's also a tribute to our first Ranger, and first casualty. It will be symbolic of the alliance between Earth and the forces of S.P.D. in the galaxy, an alliance we will be announcing to the press today."

A glance passed between her and Cruger, and he stepped forward, head bowed over the glass case and then lifted proudly. "Thank you, Dr. Manx," he said. "Thanks to all of you. My fellow Sirians would be proud."

Angela broke the brief silence that followed with: "Are you sure about revealing to the whole world that you're both aliens? That S.P.D. is an interplanetary organization?"

"Quite sure," Cruger answered. "We have little choice, anyway, after Mirloc's attack on the city. We must explain who he is and where he came from, and it may as well be the truth."

Mirloc. The name sent a shiver through him now, but it had meant little to Andrew the first time he had heard it, when Cruger had informed them - could it be only a week ago? - that a notorious and very dangerous alien criminal had landed on Earth with a small band of followers. With Joel out of town on a family emergency, Cruger had been concerned enough to ask for help from Bio-Lab in the form of the two Rangers working for them.

It hadn't been enough. The sun had been warm and bright that morning, but instead of the freshness of a spring breeze Andrew had smelled the sting of smoke when he and the others ran outside after hearing the news. Instead of a clear blue sky he had seen a dark cloud above Newtech City, the place he had come to think of as home. The day Cruger had warned them of had come, sooner than anyone had expected or been prepared for. They had huddled around the television in Andrew's quarters, as helpless as any other citizen, hushed, some of them remembering other times, other threats to other cities, other losses.

Nick, so dedicated and brilliant and fearless, so proud to be the first S.P.D. Ranger. He had not disappointed them in his first major battle. Mirloc's gang had been captured and Mirloc himself had fled the planet, apparently defeated - but it was victory at a terrible cost. Nick had died when the weapon he took from Mirloc turned out to be a booby trap. The suit had failed to protect him when it exploded - he had not failed them but _they_ had failed him, all of them; the suit they had built with so much care, had thought was so powerful and such complete protection, had not been good enough to save him.

Failure. Andrew had been unable to keep the word out of his head as he stood in coldly drizzling rain at the graveside service, looking around at the circle of faces around the coffin and reading the grief on each one. Cruger and Kat in their hologrammed human disguises were impassive, and he remembered Kat once asking him whether the tears she could not shed helped ease the pain. Lyn Tate stood dressed in black, clutching little Sky's hand, her face numb and dazed. The Carsons were with her, Paul not looking much better, and Andrew remembered that he and Kat had known and worked with Nick for longer than any of the rest of them. Joel wore the stricken look of a man who blamed himself for not being there when his friend had needed his help, all of his cheerful bluster gone, Angela close at his side. Two strangers were present too; Wes Collins and Eric Myers stood leaning together, supporting each other, perhaps feeling the guilt of having survived the fight that Nick had not.

And Rose, of course, raising her eyes to Andrew's for a moment with so much grief and so much sympathy in them that he had circled her shoulders with his arm and drawn her close. He could feel her sigh before she leaned her head against him.

Now Rose was still at his side, as if she had always belonged there, as they stood in an empty lobby looking at the future of S.P.D. Her fingers found his, and he accepted the gesture of comfort and understanding, and returned it.

- - -

**_May 2010_**

_S.P.D. has had a major loss. Nick Tate was killed fighting an alien criminal named Mirloc. He saved a lot of lives, and all of us will always remember him as S.P.D. Earth's first hero. He left a wife and young son - S.P.D. and Bio-Lab will make sure they don't lack for money, and I'll help if they'll let me, but that's a poor substitute for a husband and a father._

_I think back to the risks I exposed all of you to when you were Rangers, and I'm terrified by how close we came to losing you, how close the team and all its members came to death so many times. Maybe all of us who have been Rangers, or worked with them, have gotten too complacent and assumed somehow that Rangers are immune, that it will never happen to you or that something will always save you or bring you back. Well, it's happened now, and there's no bringing Nick back. I know the risk is necessary, that it's for the greater good, but I find myself wishing that you were safe back home and would never touch that Tracker again. Selfish, I know, and I suppose deep down I wouldn't really want you to give it up, but right now I'm feeling like just another father afraid of losing his child._

"Andrew?" He looked up to see Rose in the doorway, looking hesitant. She was dressed for travel in a light jacket and had her suitcase behind her and a bag in one hand. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I'm leaving soon. Wanted to say goodbye."

"I was just finishing a letter to Mack. Of course you're not disturbing me - I'm glad you came; I lost track of time." Andrew got up and crossed the room to face her as she stepped inside. "So - I guess this is it, huh? For a while, at least."

"For a while. At least."

"I still wish Cruger hadn't insisted that we leave on schedule. I feel like we should be working harder than ever."

Rose shrugged slightly and smiled with a trace of sadness. "Maybe he's right. I've been at it for a year; you guys for almost two years, and despite how great it's been we've been under a lot of pressure. After what happened S.P.D. Command has decided to put up a protective force around Earth for a few years, and Kat and Cruger think we'll be pretty safe for a while. Maybe right now we need some time off to calm down, and then make our decisions about whether to come back when we're thinking more clearly."

"When did you get so smart?" Andrew smiled down at her.

"Just born that way." There was a spark of the old spirit in her grin as she nodded towards the desk and his letter. "Be sure to say hi to Mack for me."

"Will do. You're headed to your parents first? Then back to London?"

"My parents, yes." Rose frowned and looked away. "But not London, at least not yet. I haven't decided. I may stay in the States."

"I see," Andrew said, not seeing at all. "Uh... what about...?"

"Sean. My boyfriend." Rose said it with what sounded like distaste, took a breath and then raised her head resolutely. "I have a confession to make. When I told you I had dated guys my age, that was true. The one I dated longest was named Sean, and he's a mathematician. But when I left London a year ago we were both fine with letting it end. There's no boyfriend." She met his eyes steadily. "I'm sorry. I told myself it was an exaggeration more than a lie. I told myself it was just so you wouldn't worry about a repeat performance of me throwing myself at you. But I suspect my hurt pride had a lot to do with it."

She looked a little apprehensive, as if she expected him to be angry, but anger was the furthest thing from Andrew's mind at the moment. "I understand," he said, not bothering to hold back a grin. "I felt a little of that hurt pride myself at the thought that you had gotten over me so easily."

They smiled at each other, sharing another of those moments of unspoken communication that had come to mean so much to him. Then Rose said the words he didn't want to hear:

"Well, I guess I'd better get going."

"Need any help with your luggage?" Andrew asked.

"No, my driver's down the hall; he'll get it." She paused, blinking a little, and said softly, "Goodbye, Andrew."

"Let's keep in touch this time. And let's say 'so long' instead of goodbye."

Her lips barely trembled as she said, "So long, then." After a long moment she leaned forward and stretched up as he bent his head to meet her in a too-short and too-chaste kiss.

Rose was almost out the door when she turned back, eyes with a hint of sparkle in them. "You know, Andrew, you were right about a lot of the things you said to me that time. But you were wrong about one thing."

"What's that?"

"I never once wondered what I see in you." And before he could respond, she was gone.

- - -

_"Rose just left, and she said to say hello to you. Spencer is picking me up in an hour, just enough time to finish this letter and give it to Kat, and make sure I've packed everything. It feels very strange to leave this place that has gotten to feel like home, but I have to say I'll be very glad to get back to the mansion and have Spencer around to nag me. I'll miss the people I worked with for the last couple of years, though, and especially Rose. She's a very special woman. _

_I guess that's all for now, Mack. Take care, and be safe._

_Love, Dad"_

Mack had a frown on his face when he looked up at the sound of his own name and found Tyzonn in front of him, watching with an expression of amusement that quickly faded. He realized he hadn't even noticed the party winding down or his friend coming to talk to him.

"Mack, is something wrong?" Tyzonn asked.

"No." Mack quickly folded the letter and shoved it into a pocket. "No, it's nothing."

"That was a letter from Earth, wasn't it? I sent one on to the Megaship earlier. Has anything happened to your father? To one of the others?"

"No." Mack sighed. "Dad's been working on a new Ranger project. Everything sounded like it was going great - but now their first Ranger was killed fighting some criminal." He paused, trying to understand his own reactions. "It's weird, I feel like I knew the guy. Maybe it's because he was a Ranger, or maybe because Dad sounded pretty torn up about it."

"I'm sorry." Tyzonn's face was full of sympathy.

"Hey, I shouldn't have said anything. You don't need to hear about something like that on your wedding day."

"Mack, death is a part of life. Neither has meaning without the other." Tyzonn's eyes moved to where Vella stood with a small group of people, obviously waiting for him. "This reminds me to cherish the good things I have now, knowing they won't last forever." He smiled. "Except maybe love. That lasts even when we are gone."

"Have a great honeymoon, Ty," Mack said softly.

"Come back and visit us soon."

"I will, promise."

Mack saw Tyzonn and Vella wave to him before they rejoined the dance, and watched for a few more minutes, enjoying the music and laughter, before he turned away. Love lasts - assuming you know it when you've found it. Would he?

TBC...


	7. End to Beginning, part I

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

* * *

**End to Beginning, part I**

**_July 2010, Arizona_**

_"Jessica Jeffries to wed television news producer..."_

Andrew could still remember every word of the announcement on the evening news a week ago. Jessica was getting married. It surprised him that she would have found the time out from her career as a successful reporter and television personality to have a personal life, to date, to fall in love, to get married - he wasn't sure why; plenty of people seemed able to do it. He also wasn't sure why it bothered him so much. Not jealousy, it had been decades since they had been a couple.

Jessica had been so beautiful, so bright, so energetic and outgoing, everything an intellectual college student with little social life could want in a girlfriend. They had dated for almost a year, and Andrew had toyed with the idea of being in love. But when his graduation arrived he began to wonder if they were both too young for commitment, and besides, she still had three years of college to keep her in Newtech City while he could move on to advanced studies in much more interesting places, and the prospect of spending a year on a dig in Egypt had seemed much more meaningful than staying in the States to be near his girlfriend...

At least they had parted friends, although they hadn't really kept in touch until Jess came asking for the opportunity to interview his Rangers three years ago. He had wondered at the time whether he should ask her out for dinner, whether for old times' sake or to give it another try he couldn't decide - but the time hadn't seemed right, and he was busy, and she was completely involved in her career.

Maybe that was why Jessica's engagement bothered him so much that he had given in to an attack of restlessness and come here, supposedly to do some hiking but in reality looking for solitude and thought. It was an excellent place for it; he was high enough in the mountains to escape the broiling heat of an Arizona summer, at least when he stayed out of the sun. At the moment he was standing in the shade of a large rock outcropping at the edge of a cliff, trying to make out the town of Tombstone in the distance, alone in the stark beauty of a desert landscape with an immensity of clear blue sky spread above him.

Being alone in a place like this had never bothered him before, but today - he kept wanting to look beside him and see Rose's bright eyes and warm smile, and hear her tell him how awe-inspiring the view was. All of it, everything, seemed flat and pale without her here to share it. Was that love? And yet he knew it was, the part of love that had always terrified him with the idea of being tied to one person, of being dependant on someone else for his happiness, the part that was sure it wouldn't be worth the disappointment when something inevitably went wrong, the part that had always made him run as fast as he could to the next expedition or research project or engineering venture.

Why? Andrew had never bothered to wonder why before. Maybe a father who had been too wrapped up in his business enterprises and a series of increasingly young and beautiful 'assistants' to pay attention to his family, and a mother who'd had no time for anything but travel and social events for her world-wide collection of charities. He'd watched their marriage fall to ruins and eventually turn into the real opposite of love - complete indifference - and sworn it would never happen to him. But blaming his parents was too easy and too glib - he had avoided their mistakes, and found plenty of ways to make his own.

He could see now that he'd never loved Jessica or any of the other women he'd been involved with enough to get past his doubts and fears. The question was... did he love Rose enough? Their age difference was a valid concern, but had he been using it as an excuse to avoid starting a relationship that might go deeper than anything he'd experienced before?

"Andrew Hartford?"

The voice behind him was so totally unexpected and startling that Andrew turned too fast and lost his balance, a foot slipping as a small stone rolled under it. He staggered backwards, arms windmilling in an effort to right himself as he teetered on the brink of the long fall to a rocky slope below...

Until a strong hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. Andrew took a second to look down and gulp in relief before turning his attention to his rescuer.

She was a woman - at least at first glance. Her shoulders were broad and her build was wiry, with slim hips and no sign of breasts, but her voice and features were definitely feminine. Hair so red it seemed aflame in the sun topped a face dotted with dark spots too large to be freckles, and her fingernails looked very much like claws, but otherwise she seemed human enough. Her uniform - dark green overalls that left her arms bare - reminded him a little of the lizard mailman who had delivered Mack's first letter.

"Hey, sorry to startle you. I don't usually send customers falling to their deaths," she said. Her grin looked human too.

"Not your fault, I just wasn't expecting anyone up here."

"I can see why." She glanced out at the view and took a deep breath. "Nice planet you've got here. Very scenic."

"Thanks." Andrew returned her smile. "May I ask what this is about? Do you have a letter for me?"

"Yes, I do. I guess you've been expecting one." She pulled a letter from a small pouch on her belt and handed it to him.

"In a way. I've been getting letters delivered by S.P.D., and before that I got one from a - a space mail carrier, I guess."

"The ISPS." She made a disdainful face and then explained as Andrew gave her a questioning look. "The Interstellar Postal Service. I mean, they're okay for ordinary correspondence, but talk about your snail mail...! I work for PlanEx - Planetary Express. Fastest door to door delivery in the known Galaxy; it's there in a kefrong or your money back. Um - that's just over a week, Earth time."

"Sounds very impressive."

"If you'll just sign here, I'll be off. Got deliveries in two more planetary systems before my rest break." She held out a small tablet and pointed to a blank space.

"Thank you very much," Andrew said as he signed.

"Just doing my job." She put the tablet away, stepped back, and grinned again. "Enjoy your letter, and don't take any more long walks off short cliffs!"

"I'm not planning to," Andrew replied. He watched, only mildly surprised as she dissolved into a whirling column of red energy that swiftly shot upwards into the sky and disappeared.

An express delivery. Mack had wanted him to get this letter quickly - did that mean bad news or good news? Only one way to find out. Both anxious and eager, Andrew ripped it open.

"_Dear Dad, _

_I was sorry to hear about Nick Tate. That must have been a very hard time for all of you, but I hope you're feeling a little better by now and that his wife and son are doing okay under the circumstances. Also I guess you've been away from S.P.D. for a while now and back in the house._

_I have a lot of news. First of all, things went really well on Perfection before we left, and I really liked getting to know other androids, and seeing them and the humans there starting to cooperate. We all felt kind of proud we could help, you know? But after a few months it was time to leave and get to Tyzonn's wedding, and the Phantom Ranger decided to come with us, and Cassie was really happy about that. I have to admit I was sort of sorry to go..."_

- x -

Goodbyes were always bittersweet, or that's how it seemed to Mack as he looked out from a window of the room Artemis used as an office, down at the vast courtyard behind her castle headquarters. Sweet because the months they had spent on Perfection had accomplished so much: the release from prison of Diana's brother Seth and many others, an easing of tensions between androids and humans, an agreement for both sides to work together for peace. Bitter because all of them would miss the friends they had made here. It would be hardest for the Phantom, of course; after ten years on Perfection he had decided to join the Space team - he said because it was time to move on, but they all knew he wanted to stay with Cassie.

Mack had his own reasons to regret leaving; this was the first time he had been around androids like himself, the first time he had not felt out of place since he had discovered what he really was. And there was more. He knew he'd miss some of the people of Perfection more than others.

This was the same room where he had been brought the night the city police had captured him, the same room where he had secretly brought Diana and Phantom to confront Artemis. It had become a familiar and comfortable place to him now, where he had spent many pleasant and productive hours. Artemis herself sat at a desk near the windows lining one wall, her dark head highlighted by the sunlight as it bent over the speech she was working on. Over the last months she had largely abandoned the showy clothes of when they had met and was wearing a soft gray jumpsuit that was flattering but not revealing, her hair pulled back in a thick black ponytail.

Their relationship had become familiar too, as it turned from near hostility to growing friendship, and as he discovered a warmth and humor in her that were more genuinely attractive than her engineered beauty. A little more attractive than he was comfortable with, in fact, and while a large part of him regretted that this was the last time they would see each other for at least several months, another part felt a furtive twinge of relief at not having to face something he wasn't sure he was ready for.

As he watched her she glanced up and smiled, and then returned to her work with a slight frown of concentration. Mack turned his attention back to the walled and gated courtyard below where people were gathering, reporters settling down in a good spot, a couple of workers setting up the small podium where Artemis would be giving her speech. It was almost startling when words broke the silence of that peaceful room.

"We have traveled a long road to reach this point," Artemis read from the paper before her on the desk. "Sometimes we have stumbled and fallen, but we have not abandoned the journey. There is much distance yet to go, but we can reach our goal if we walk together." She raised her eyes to look at him expectantly. "What do you think?"

"It's nice," he said.

"Nice? That's all?"

"I think it's _very_ nice."

"Too flowery? Too poetic? Does the road thing sound stupid?"

"It's fine." He shook his head at her. "It's just a speech, Artie. You must have given hundreds of them before."

"It's not 'just a speech'. I'm announcing major changes to our laws, giving humans an equal voice in the government for the first time in over a hundred years." She shot him a mock glare. "And don't call me Artie."

"Sorry." He grinned unrepentantly. "Don't worry, you'll do great. They'll love it."

"Will they?" Artemis propped herself on an elbow, looking down at the page again. "A lot of people - a lot of my fellow androids - won't like this. They'll say I'm giving the planet to the humans."

He moved closer and sat in the chair on the other side of the desk, leaning across it towards her as he asked, "Are you afraid of losing the next election?"

"Not afraid, exactly." She pushed the papers aside and sighed. "I've been Planetary Leader for five years. When my term's up I think I'll be ready to let someone else take over."

Mack watched her, wondering at the hint of weary resignation he thought was behind the curve of her lips. "You're tired, aren't you?" he asked. "I mean, it's been hard on you the last few months. Dealing with Diana and the humans, and with the androids too, trying to work out something to make them both happy when nothing will."

"That's the essence of compromise," she answered with a half-smile. "Come up with something both sides can live with, even if neither likes it very much. And you've worked just as hard, and been an incredible help."

"Well..." Mack leaned back and shrugged modestly. "I don't know how much help I've been. I'm not a politician or a diplomat or anything."

Artemis looked amused, but there was a warm glint in her eyes. "No. You're something better: a bridge between the two sides, an android who understands how humans think and feel, and who shows we're not so different from them."

"Yeah... I guess that's because I thought I _was_ human until a couple of years ago."

"You did?" Her brows drew together in surprise and disbelief. "How's that possible?"

"Well..." Mack shifted self-consciously in his seat, now wishing he hadn't mentioned that fact. "My father - the person who created me - programmed me with artificial memories of a childhood and stuff. I remembered growing up human, and had no reason to think I wasn't until--"

"Until what?"

Mack found himself even more uncomfortable with the idea of trying to describe how it had felt to wake up with no body, his head connected to a mass of wires, and after the initial disbelief and denial to be forced to the realization that everything he had taken for granted was an illusion. Then the confusion of the next days and weeks, the anger, the shame, the feeling of disconnection from everything he had ever known, leading him to no longer care if he continued to exist, and perhaps even to wish it could all be over. He'd thought he had learned to accept it - but he still wasn't eager to talk about it, not even with a fellow android.

"Until I - found out," he said finally.

"Found out. How?"

Mack swallowed, shrugged, and looked away. "I was damaged. Woke up while my dad was repairing me."

"Mack." Artemis' voice was so gentle that he looked up at her again. "I can only imagine how I would feel if I suddenly discovered I was human. Horrible."

The irony made him smile. "Man, I would have given anything back then to have it all be some kind of dream, or to get turned human somehow."

"Your creator did this to you? Deceived you this way, let you be hurt - and you still call him 'father'?"

"He had his reasons. Not good ones, but - he loves me and he's my family. I was pretty mad at him for a while, but not anymore." He smiled at her skeptical look. "Well, not very much, anyway."

"I admire your forgiving nature." She added in a mutter, "I'm not sure I share it."

It was time to talk about something else. "So... what do you think you'll do once you leave office?" Mack asked.

"Hmm." She acknowledged the change of subject with only a raised brow. "Continue to work with Diana, I suppose, if it's needed. Go back to my old hobbies that I don't have time for now, or take up a new one." Artemis paused, smiling faintly. "Or... I know what I'd like to do most of all."

"What?"

There seemed to be a hint of wistfulness in her eyes as she looked through the window at the sky and then back to his face. "I was created here on Perfection and have never left it. I wish I could travel through the stars like you, to see other planets and other peoples."

"Maybe someday you could come with us," Mack said impulsively. "There's room on the Megaship, and I'm sure Andros wouldn't mind. You could see KO-35, and Mercuria, and Earth, and... all the places we haven't even been to yet."

"I'd like that. Someday, if you return, I'd like that very much."

"We'll have to come back to make sure everything's going okay here."

"Soon, I hope."

"I guess that's up to Andros, but I'll see what I can do." Mack raised a hand to brush back his hair and grinned. "Who knows, maybe when we come back I'll get some work done on myself. Fix up my face, new hair, tune up the old body. What do you think?"

"I think it would be a shame." Artemis' expression was gravely serious, but her eyes twinkled. "I've become quite fond of you exactly the way you are."

"You have?" Mack smiled, half embarrassed, half flattered, interested in exploring the topic further, but hesitant - but the sound of the door opening turned both their heads to see the ever-faithful and ever-scowling Tyr ushering a group of people into the room.

"How's the big speech coming?" Diana asked brightly as she stepped inside. The rebel leader seemed to have picked up some of the fashion sense Artemis had discarded, and today was dressed in a clinging green dress that draped becomingly over her slim figure, her unruly hair tamed into loose curls, a touch of color on her lips.

"As finished as it's going to be," Artemis said, gathering up her sheets of notes. "Is it time to go down to the courtyard yet?"

"Any time you're ready." This came from the Phantom, who had entered with Cassie's hand in his and the other Astro Rangers behind them, followed by Diana's brother Seth who hesitated and looked around the room curiously before coming in.

"All right." Artemis stood. "Let's do this."

"We won't be coming with you," Phantom said. "It's time for us to say goodbye."

"So soon?" Diana asked. "You're not coming down to hear the speech?"

"No. We've done as much as we can. Both of you need to show you're capable of handling Perfection's problems yourselves now. The best way to prove that is by us disappearing now, when you're starting to lead this world in a new direction."

Seth shook their hands and clapped Mack on the shoulder, and even Tyr approached to offer them a grave nod and the hint of a smile. Then it was Diana stepping up to face Mack, taking both his hands in hers. "I'm not sure how to thank you," she said. "You took a great risk to help us."

"That's what we do," Mack said simply.

"Where will you go next?"

"To KO-35 first. Then Mercuria for a friend's wedding. After that, I'm hoping we'll be able to visit Earth."

"Then I'll say again: thank you, and wish you happiness and safe journey. I hope we meet again soon."

"I'm sure we will."

She leaned in and reached up to kiss him on the cheek and hug him tightly. Then she went on to the Phantom, silently embracing him, both trying to smile through the pain of good friends parting, before saying a few words of farewell to him and the other Rangers.

And finally Artemis; she shook hands solemnly with Andros and the rest of the Rangers, and gave Phantom a smile when she came to him. "I'm glad we can part as friends," she said. "I realize now how much good you've done on Perfection. Thank you." As he nodded, she turned to Mack.

"I'll miss you, Mackenzie Hartford. May your journeys be good ones, and may you return soon."

"I'll miss you too. Goodbye, Artie." He folded his arms around her as she stepped in to hug him, and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Don't call me Artie," she whispered, and kissed him quickly before she whirled away and started for the stairs leading down to the courtyard.

Mack watched from the window as Artemis and Diana took their places side by side on the podium, with Seth and Tyr a few steps behind them, and as Artemis began to speak words he couldn't hear through the glass. The light touch of a hand on his shoulder pulled his attention back to the room and his companions.

"We should get back to the ship," Andros said.

"I kind of wish we could stay a little longer." Mack looked out and down again.

It was Phantom who answered with a soft, "All good things must end, so new ones can begin." But he took a long, slow look around before they activated their transporters, as if trying to memorize this last view of the place he had called home for the last ten years.

- x -

There were only the usual sounds of quiet conversation from the Rangers at each station on the Megaship's bridge as they exchanged information during the liftoff from Perfection, ascended through the atmosphere, and as Andros at the helm set them on a course for KO-35. Sitting in his place at the ship's internal monitoring station, Mack watched the viewscreen shift from the planet below to the stars ahead, beginning to visibly stream backwards as they entered hyperrush.

"Well, I guess that's that," Carlos said with a sigh. "In a week we'll be back home, or as close to home as we get."

"It'll be good to see KO-35 again," Cassie said. She looked over at Phantom, who was standing at the side of the room still staring at the screen. "Have you ever been there, Phantom?"

"No. I'm looking forward to visiting." He turned his head and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"You've been on Earth. Maybe we can visit there soon. Andros?"

"Sure." He threw them a glance, and exchanged a look with Ashley that struck Mack as oddly nervous.

Cassie got up and crossed to where Phantom stood. "And meanwhile, there's something we need to discuss."

"What's that?"

"Your name. I can't go the rest of my life calling you 'Phantom Ranger'." She tilted her head. "You never had a real name?"

He shrugged. "My official designation was 'XOM1738'. You're the ones who started calling me 'Phantom Ranger'. I thought it was as good a name as any, and a lot easier to pronounce."

"That's for sure. Still, Phantom's not a name." Cassie considered him, a finger tapping her lips. "I can see I'm going to have to do something about this."

"You're in for it now." T.J. snickered as she shot him a glare. "Just don't let her name you 'Sue', man."

"Excuse me?" Phantom said blankly.

"Never mind, just an old Earth joke." T.J. climbed to his feet. "Who's up for shooting a few hoops in the Simudeck?"

"Make it zero-grav basketball and I'm in," Mack said, starting to get up.

"Wait, guys." Andros had turned around to face them and again looked at Ashley, hesitating uncharacteristically. He held out a hand to his wife as she rose and went to his side. "I - we - have an announcement to make. Or a couple of announcements."

He paused again awkwardly, but Ashley took over. "What Andros is trying to say is..." Her smile widened into a grin, her eyes brightening. "I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!"

There were a few seconds of stunned silence before a babble of congratulations and good wishes burst from all of them. Cassie jumped up, went to Ashley and hugged her. In another moment they were all crowding around with slaps on the back for Andros and more hugs for Ashley. Even Alpha joined in with happy cries and much arm-waving, and DECA with congratulations and an almost smug statement that she had, of course, already known.

As the commotion died down Andros took a step back and cleared his throat, his expression becoming serious again. "Um... there's more, guys." He waited until Ashley took his hand and the others were facing him again expectantly before continuing.

"Ashley and I have talked about this a lot since we found out she's pregnant. The Megaship's great, but - you said it yourself just now, Carlos, it's not really a home. We both don't think it's right to raise a child here. So..." He took a deep breath. "We've decided to leave, and settle down on KO-35."

Again silence descended on the bridge as Mack, Cassie, T.J., Carlos, and Phantom all looked at each other uncertainly. Finally, "Leave?" Cassie said faintly.

"You're quitting the team?" T.J. said. "Giving up being Rangers?"

"We've discussed it with the Kerovan Elders." Andros put an arm around Ashley. "The two of us, and Zhane, will be training a new Ranger team, one which will stay on the planet most of the time."

"Why not us?" Carlos asked. "We could stay on KO-35."

"You're from Earth, all of you except Phantom and Alpha," Ashley said. "Andros and I have decided to live on KO-35 for now, but I know all of you miss your home. The Elders thought it would be better to have a Kerovan team who wouldn't be likely to want to leave sometime in the future."

"So where does that leave us?" Mack asked.

"The Elders are very grateful for everything you've done over the years," Andros said. "They've decided to turn the Astro Megaship over to you. You can base yourselves on Earth and spend more time there, but still go wherever you're needed in the Galaxy." He spread his hands. "It seemed like the best solution for everyone."

"I hope you're not mad at us," Ashley said in a small voice after another few moments of silence.

"Mad? Of course not." Cassie stepped up to hug her again. "We understand. It's just that we'll miss you. Right, guys?" She and Ashley both smiled at the chorus of agreement from Carlos, T.J., and Mack. "When is all this happening? When are you due?" Her voice faltered just a little. "Are you going to leave the ship now, when we get to KO-35?"

Ashley laughed. "Well, I'm due in just over five months. That's in November, Earth time, I think. And no, we're going to Tyzonn's wedding with you and then we'd like to go to Earth. I want to see my parents before the baby comes, and spend some time with them if you're all willing to stay there for a while."

"Of course we are." Cassie looked around as everyone nodded. "It's been a long time. I'd like to see more of my family, too, instead of just a few days a couple of times a year."

"I wouldn't mind sticking around long enough to have a real life on Earth myself," T.J. said.

"Me either," Mack agreed. "I haven't been back since I left. It's been more than two years."

"Then this is great, right?" Carlos said, stretching his arms out with a grin.

Cassie left Ashley and took Phantom's arm, looking up into his face. "It can be great for you too. Earth can be your home now, if that's what you want."

"Anywhere you are is home to me," he replied, reaching to cover her hand with his.

"That's so sweet..." For a moment they seemed about to launch into another session of gazing into each other's eyes, a habit that still amused all of them with the effect Phantom had on the usually so self-possessed and unsentimental Cassie. This time, though, Cassie nodded and said decisively, "Now we _really_ have to think of a name for you." Side by side, they began to slowly walk towards the door leading out to the corridor. "Earnest, like the play? No, I'd probably think of Ernie every time we're together."

"How about Andrew, since I'm an android?"

"Hey, that's my dad's name!" Mack exclaimed.

"Tom? Sounds a little like 'Phantom'?"

"As in Tommy? Absolutely not," Cassie was saying as they stepped through the doorway.

- x -

"You are now one, body and life blended for all time."

Mack watched Tyzonn and Vella smile at each other, hands clasped as they stood before the Mercurian official who had presided over their wedding ceremony. He looked around as the onlookers standing in a circle surrounding the couple remained silent, and then back to the small dais they stood on. Apparently something else was going to happen.

It started with their hands. Tyzonn and Vella stood unmoving as their joined hands shimmered with silver and dissolved, seeming to melt together. The transformation into mercury continued up their arms, down their bodies, until only two vague forms were left in liquid metal. Then they began to come apart - a ribbon of silver here, a streaming wave there, rising into the air and weaving together in a dazzling and intricate display of glistening threads, pouring into and through each other until they seemed one entity. Then, slowly, the ribbons and threads reluctantly separated and retreated into two humanoid forms again, and took on the solidity of flesh, and Vella and Tyzonn stood smiling again, each in the place the other had occupied.

There was a murmur of approval from the onlookers, and a brief burst of foot-stamping that Mack took to be applause. For a few moments again he thought the ceremony was over, until he saw several people among the crowd move farther forward towards the happy couple while others fell back, laughing and calling out joking remarks. "What's going on?" he said to Carlos and T.J., and got only shrugs.

"Didn't you guys bother to look up Mercurian wedding traditions?" Cassie gave them a superior smirk. "This is the part when the bride and groom scatter flowers over the single people in the party. It's supposed to help them find true love."

"You mean like throwing the bride's bouquet?" Mack said.

"Kind of." Cassie took a step and tugged at Phantom's arm. "Come on, don't you want to join in?"

"But I've already found true love," he answered, smiling and taking her hands as she stopped and turned back to him for, apparently, another bout of soulful gazing into each other's eyes.

"There they go again," Carlos said with a dramatic sigh. He started for the crowd gathered around Tyzonn and Vella, his voice trailing back faintly. "Ohhh, _Phantom_..."

"Ohhh, _Cassie_," T.J. echoed, dodging with a laugh when Cassie swatted at him absently but accurately without looking away from Phantom's face.

A hand poked Mack in the back, urging him forward. "You go too, Mack," Ashley said. "You guys can all use some true love."

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Mack located T.J. and Carlos in the crowd and joined them, laughing and holding up a hand to shield his face as a flurry of vivid blue petals smelling faintly of lavender drifted across the bright Mercurian sky and showered him. He caught a glimpse of Tyzonn, holding a large bag out of which he was grabbing handfuls of variously colored small flowers and tossing them into the air with a grin. The people around them were scooping petals and blossoms from the ground and throwing them at each other in a happy confusion of laughter and shouts. Mack was sorry when the noise died down, the last flower had fallen to earth, and everyone began to drift away.

When the music started he followed T.J. and Carlos to the shade cast by Tyzonn's house, and they watched a few couples move out onto the lawn and into some kind of complicated dance he didn't even want to attempt, especially as more and more people joined in. He spotted Andros and Ashley and thought for a moment they were brave enough to try it, but they stayed in a corner in a slow dance that fit the music quite well. After a few moments Cassie and Phantom followed their example.

"Well, here we are again," Carlos said, his voice slightly rueful. "The three lone Rangers."

Mack shrugged. "Nothing wrong with being single."

"Which you may not be much longer," T.J. said with a laugh. "Not if Artemis and Diana have anything to say about it."

"We're all just friends."

"Sure, just friends. I gotta hand to ya, Mack, not one but two hot babes waiting for you to come back."

"They're not _waiting_ for me," Mack protested, unable to keep a chuckle of amusement from his voice. "And I don't think either one would appreciate being called a babe. Even a hot babe."

"Come on, Mack," Carlos coaxed. "You had something going on with one of them, right? Which one?"

"Who says it was only one?" Mack grinned. "The more the merrier!"

- x -

It was later, when he stood under the first hints of light in a pre-dawn sky, watching the last of the wedding guests trail off in search of their own homes and a little sleep, lifting his eyes from a second reading of his father's latest letter, that the conversation came back to him.

Strange, he thought. Reading about a fellow Ranger's death, even one he had never met, had saddened him, and yet when he read the letter again what struck him was something about his father's tone when he wrote about Rose. Something that stirred a suspicion Mack dismissed immediately - and then retrieved for a closer look. Could it be? No. But why not? The idea of it disturbed him - but he'd seen far stranger things in the short span of his life so far. He'd tried for a more improbable relationship right here on Mercuria, with Strellia, and seen an equally unlikely one happen between Cassie and Phantom. Even Andros and Ashley were from vastly different worlds. Was an age difference more of a gap than the divide between human and android, or Earthling and alien?

That brought him back to Artemis. Had he felt attracted to her because of herself, or only because she was an android like him? Was it love, or rather the beginnings of what could be love, or only the same desire to belong somewhere, and to someone, that had drawn him to Strellia? Would it fade just as quickly? If only he'd had more time on Perfection to find out - but even as he had the thought Mack realized the problem was too much in himself for more time to have helped.

- x -

_"And now the big news - it's kind of good and bad. The good part is that Ashley's having a baby. The bad part is that she and Andros are going to leave the Megaship. But then there's another good part - the people on KO-35 want us to keep the ship, so T.J., Carlos, Cassie, Phantom, and I will be the new Astro Rangers._

_Then we went to Mercuria for Tyzonn's wedding. It was great, a lot of fun, and you'd have loved to see their customs and stuff. We all had a good time. Ashley and Andros want to come to Earth next to see her parents before the baby comes, so that's where we're headed now. And we'll be around a lot after that; since all of us except Phantom and Alpha are from Earth we're planning to make it our new home base and we'll spend most of our time there or close by. That's the rest of the good news - I'm coming back, Dad!_

_I'm sending this letter by express delivery so it'll get there before I do, but expect me in a couple of days, probably. Can't wait to see you and Spencer and be in the mansion again! _

_See you soon._

_Love, Mack"_

Andrew barely realized he had jumped to his feet as he read the last lines. He read them again, a grin spreading over his face, and then looked up, took a breath, and whooped into the blue of the wide cloudless sky above, not caring if anyone heard or if no one heard. His son was coming home!

- x -

It was night when DECA dropped him off. Mack looked up to the stars above, his eyes finding the Megaship only as a greater darkness blocking their light. He raised a hand to wave, smiling at himself for the gesture to a now-empty ship. His teammates were already back in Angel Grove, and even Alpha was visiting Adam Park and his 'brother', Alpha Six. For all of them it was a time for homecoming, and for family.

The mansion glimmered white in the soft lights hidden in hedges and bushes. How long had it been since he had walked across this lawn, grass giving way to the crunch of gravel underfoot as he got closer, past the little statue guarding the entrance and up the steps to the front door? Two years - closer to two and a half. Far too long.

As he lifted a hand to knock, it occurred to Mack that he was no longer the confused, lonely, still angry boy who had walked out all that time ago. Had his father changed as much? Had Spencer? Would even the house itself be different? Would it still feel the same?

The doorbell seemed to echo. Mack waited for the sound of footsteps and smiled tentatively as the door swung open. And then he was hugging his father fiercely, and then Spencer, and all he could manage to say was, "Dad, Spencer, I'm home!"

_TBC..._


	8. End to Beginning, part II

Operation Overdrive belongs to Disney/Ranger Productions. I am using it without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated a mild T: minor language, some mild sexuality, some mature concepts.

A/N: Last chapter. Thanks go to my lovely beta, MzDany, for all her encouragement and friendship. Good luck to you in your new house! Thanks also to everyone who's read and reviewed, it means a lot to me.

* * *

**End to Beginning, part II**

They had all the makings of a great party, Andrew reassured himself as he followed Mack to the front door in answer to the bell. The living room and entertainment room were decorated with a few balloons and flowers tucked in the corners in honor of the occasion. Music was playing and could be turned up later for dancing. Spencer had prepared enough food to satisfy a small army and had made sure the bar was stocked. Most important, their guests were Mack's former and present teammates and they all had something to celebrate: the return of the Astro Rangers to Earth. Andrew had his own reasons for looking forward to seeing one of them - but this was Mack's night, as he reminded himself when the door opened and that one was not in sight.

"Guys!" Mack exclaimed. "Come on in. Glad you could make it."

Alpha was the first one inside. "Thank you for inviting me, Mack," the little robot said. "I wasn't expecting to be included in your homecoming party!"

"Why not?" Mack patted him on the shoulder. "You're part of the team, aren't you? And I hope you're my friend."

"Of course." Alpha had no real face to express emotion, of course, but his voice had an almost human warmth as he added, "I'm glad that we're friends."

Mack gestured at the rest of their guests. "Dad, Spencer, this is Andros, Ashley, T.J., and Carlos. Everyone, this is my father and Spencer."

"Good evening, sirs and madam," Spencer said with a little bow. "Refreshments are just inside." He looked down at Alpha. "If soft drinks, juice, or alcoholic beverages are not to your liking, perhaps I can find something else that is."

"I don't suppose you have any motor oil or transmission fluid?"

"Indeed we do. Only the finest, you understand. Come with me to the garage."

Andrew chuckled as Spencer led the way out, and then showed the rest of the group into the living area where they took a moment to look around the large and luxurious room before finding seats.

"Where's Cassie and Phantom?" Mack asked.

"They should be here soon," Carlos said. "They wanted to drive from Angel Grove instead of catching a ride in the Megaship with us."

"More time to be alone, probably," T.J. said with a shrug. "As if they need it."

"I hear congratulations are in order for you two," Andrew said to Andros and Ashley.

"Thanks. We're still getting used to the idea ourselves."

The bell rang again, interrupting his response. Andrew excused himself and got up as Mack went to answer it, following his son into the hall. But instead of the one he was waiting for, he saw a slender form in jeans and a yellow sweater almost knock Mack over with her greeting.

"Mack!" Ronny exclaimed, her arms in a stranglehold around her former teammate's neck. "I'm so glad to see you! Ohmigod it's been _years_!!"

"Good to see you too," Mack said with a grin, disentangling himself from her. "You look great!"

"Thanks, so do you! Hey, Mr. H, nice to see you again!"

As she bounded inside they saw Will behind her, making a much more quiet entrance. "Hey, Mack, how's it hangin'?" he said casually as he held out his hand, but Andrew saw a deeper feeling in his smile. "Andrew, how've you been?"

"Great," Mack said. "And it's great to be home and see you guys again."

"I'm a lot better now that Mack's back." Andrew waved them towards the living room. "What have you two been up to lately?"

"You know, still doing the racing circuit," Ronny said. "It's fun, but I gotta say driving a car in circles just isn't the same as piloting zords and the SHARC and fighting monsters. Now, that was what I call an adventure!" She grinned, eyes shining.

"Will, I hear you're based in California now?"

"Yeah, South America was cool but it's nice to be back in the USA. Been dividing my time between L.A. and the East Coast - plenty of security systems that need the Will Aston touch."

"Sounds great."

Spencer had reappeared with Alpha and Andrew turned the new arrivals over to him for greetings and introductions as the bell rang again. This time it was a nice-looking young couple who Mack introduced as Cassie and Phantom. He tried to keep from staring at the man - if he truly was an android reconstructed to look human, his rebuilders had certainly done an excellent job.

"So, any luck with choosing a new name, Phantom?" Mack asked as they returned to the party. Andrew glanced around to see Ronny and Ashley helping themselves to hors d'oeuvres while Carlos, T.J., and Will inspected the pile of CDs by the stereo and Andros curiously examined the collection in the trophy room.

"We decided to go alphabetically through a list of baby names until we agree on one," Phantom said.

"How's that going?"

"Not too well. With every name, either one of us doesn't like it or it's the name of a former Ranger or a friend."

Cassie nodded and made a face. "We're up to Zack and Zane," she said darkly. "Tomorrow we start over with Aaron."

Mack snickered. "Sorry to hear that, guys - maybe you should just go with something like John Smith or something. You know, the common man and all."

Phantom and Cassie exchanged an annoyed glance and Andrew suppressed a laugh as the bell rang again. "Excuse me," he said, once again following as Mack headed that way.

Ronny went with them into the hallway, and he heard a faint gasp of surprise from her as the door swung open. There stood Dax with his familiar enthusiastic grin, and two unfamiliar but very tall and very beautiful women on his arms. He stepped forward and pumped Mack's hand, exclaiming, "Mack! Man, is it great to see you again!"

"You too, Dax. Come on in."

"How the heck have you been?"

"Good. Not doing as well as you seem to be, though," Mack said with an admiring glance at Dax's friends.

"Oh! Want you to meet Tiffany and Amber. This is Mack Hartford, and his dad, Andrew Hartford."

Spencer stepped in smoothly as hellos and nods were exchanged. "Pardon me, ladies. Allow me to introduce you to the others and show you where everything is."

"Wow," Andrew said as they walked away. "Nice going, Dax."

"Yeah, didn't know you had in you!" Mack exclaimed.

"Them? Just a couple of starlets who came along for the ride."

"I see being a Hollywood director has its benefits."

A bit of the old awkward, self-conscious Dax showed through as he grinned and shrugged, and said, "Aw, they just wanted to meet some real Rangers. Besides me, of course. And to hang out in a real gazillionaire's mansion, I guess. So it's no big deal."

Mack and Dax had started into the house, and stopped to greet Ronny in the hallway. Andrew watched them, amused as she grabbed Dax in another energetic hug, and only became aware that someone else had arrived when he heard a soft tap on the open door. He turned, and there she was. At last.

Rose stood quietly smiling at him until he extended a hand and said, "Hello, Rose. I'm glad you're here."

"So am I."

She stepped inside, and a moment later Mack and Dax had spotted her, and Ronny was chattering to her, and Will came over to say hello, and she was being introduced to the Astro Rangers, and there was no more chance for private words. Andrew closed the door and followed his former team into the living room, smiling at the easy way they slipped back into their old friendship, and trying not to feel left out.

- x -

He found himself in much the same situation two hours later, after everyone had helped themselves to Spencer's excellent food and drinks and separated into small groups talking over the music Mack had turned up in hopes of encouraging dancing. Andrew leaned against the wall in a corner with a drink in one hand, content to watch Will using his considerable charm on Tiffany and Amber, who unfortunately seemed to be fascinated by Alpha; Ronny and Ashley with their heads together, perhaps comparing notes on being yellow Rangers; Dax saying something that made Andros, Carlos, and T.J. laugh; Rose talking to Cassie and Phantom while looking at the latter with what Andrew suspected was scientific curiosity; Spencer weaving among them all making sure no one lacked for refreshments and someone to talk to.

Except Andrew himself, but perhaps Spencer knew he preferred to be alone with his thoughts at the moment. He sighed. There had been no opportunity for a word alone with Rose - or perhaps he just hadn't made one. Maybe a party was the wrong time, anyway, when he had no idea how the others here might react - most especially Mack, who he hadn't yet found the courage to tell. But the thought of just standing by and letting her walk out of his life again was completely unacceptable.

"Dad? Something wrong?" It was Mack himself, settling against the wall beside him.

"No, of course not." Andrew put a smile on his face. "I'm fine, just taking a little breather."

"Right." Mack looked at him with a discomforting intensity, and then said the last thing Andrew had expected. "It's Rose, isn't it?"

Andrew tried to suppress a guilty start. "Excuse me? Is what Rose?"

"You like her, don't you?"

He pretended not to understand. "Of course I like her. I like all of your friends."

"You know what I mean." As Andrew hesitated Mack went on. "The way you talked about her in your letters, especially the last one, I had a suspicion. And now tonight you've been watching her the whole time, but kind of trying not to get caught watching her." He smiled. "Besides, I asked Spencer what's up, and he told me - I quote - 'I believe your father and Miss Rose are quite deeply in love, but from what I gather he is too clueless to seal the deal.'"

"Ah. And Spencer is always right," Andrew muttered, shooting a dark glare at his butler, who looked back with lofty indifference.

"Is he? Are you and Rose really... in love?"

Were they? Andrew couldn't deny what he himself felt, but Rose - that part wasn't so clear. He'd done very little to encourage her, after all, and yet her last words to him at S.P.D. told him otherwise: _"I never once wondered what I see in you."_ Present tense. Finally he answered the question truthfully. "Yes, I love her. I'm not so sure about Rose." He paused for a moment as Mack nodded and glanced across the room towards the subject of their discussion. "If she doesn't feel the same way, I can't blame her. I was so sure it wouldn't work, because of the age difference. I pushed her away. I do love her - but I still find myself wondering if it's a good idea for either of us." He raised his eyes to meet Mack's again. "Or how it would affect you, and that's very important to me."

"Dad..." Mack paused, head bent, and then looked up into Andrew's face with all the directness that the last two years seemed to have given him. "I fell for a girl on Mercuria and I worried that we were too different. Now there's a woman back on Perfection I like and I've been worrying that I only feel like this about her because she's an android like me. But now I'm starting to think - maybe none of that really makes a difference. Maybe I'll end up with her, or maybe with a human woman, or maybe with someone who's not either of those. Maybe it'll be someone from right here in San Angeles and maybe someone from another world. Isn't the important thing whether we love each other, not what she is or where she's from or how alike we are?" He smiled. "I guess what I'm saying is that if you and Rose make each other happy, forget the age difference and go for it."

"You know, Mack, maybe I wasn't such a bad father after all," Andrew said quietly, and reached out to squeeze his son's shoulder. "You've turned out to be quite a man. Thanks. That means a lot to me."

Mack's smile turned into a grin. "Besides, it might be cool for me to have a little brother or sister or two."

Andrew had made the mistake of raising his glass at that moment and found Mack laughing at him as he almost choked on his drink. "We haven't even... well, anything," he said, shaking his head. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Still smiling as he looked out into the room again, he saw Will lead Ronny into the cleared center of the living area and begin to dance, followed by T.J. and Cassie and Andros and Ashley. Andrew handed his glass to Mack and straightened away from the wall. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, "I'm going to take your advice and go for it."

She looked up as he crossed the room. Andrew held out his hand and looked the question; Rose nodded and came into his arms as naturally as if she had always been meant to be there. The music wasn't really a slow dance, but it didn't matter. Minutes later as the song began to fade towards its ending, Andrew bent his head to her ear and said softly, "I've been a fool, haven't I?"

Her eyes flew up to meet his, but all she said was, "Have you?"

"I think anyone who doesn't appreciate what could have been the opportunity of a lifetime qualifies as a fool."

"Maybe. But maybe sometimes there's more than one chance at that opportunity."

Andrew paused for a moment, their eyes locked together, before saying, "I was wondering if you'd like to get out of here. We could take the SHARC and fly to Paris, or Rome, or Rio. Or maybe we could go to the desert, or the mountains, and see the stars the way they should be seen." He hesitated and added, "If you're interested, of course."

Rose blinked, and tilted her head, and slowly the deepest, warmest, most beautiful smile he thought he had ever seen blossomed across her face. "I'd like that," she whispered.

Without another word they started out, hand in hand. Andrew waited until they were out of sight before he kissed her.

- x -

Mack still had a smile on his face when the sound of his name pulled his attention away from the doorway through which his father and Rose had disappeared, to find Cassie and Phantom holding hands and grinning at him. "You guys look happy," he said.

"Oh, we are. We were wondering if you'd mind if we take a walk around the house. Spencer says there's a nice garden," Cassie said.

"Sure, have a good time." Mack waved them towards the door.

"Great! Come on, Johnny." Cassie cast a playful glance back as she tugged on Phantom's hand.

"Uh - Johnny?" Mack asked.

"Yes, just call me John Smith from now on. Isn't it great?" Phantom - or John - called as they started for the door. "Thanks for the suggestion!"

"But I was joking!" Mack protested as they vanished through the doorway with a peal of shared laughter. "Oh well," he muttered to himself. "As long as I'm on a roll..." There was one more thing on his agenda for the night, something he'd already discussed with his teammates. Now seemed like a good time, as he crossed the room to join Ronny, T.J., and Carlos.

"Hi, guys."

"Mack!" Ronny exclaimed. "You have got to show me your ship sometime. It sounds incredible!"

"It's pretty cool, all right." He nudged T.J. "Did you tell her it's the fastest ship in the galaxy?"

"I sure did, right before I told her how fast we can get from here to KO-35 at maximum speed."

"You'd love the engine room, Ronny," Carlos said. "I can spend hours down there tuning the Mega Accelerator, getting that last bit of performance out of her."

"Yeah, and flying her is a real experience," T.J. said. "Incredibly maneuverable for such a big, powerful ship."

"Did you mention the Simudeck?" Mack asked. "You can simulate any environment there. It's great for training exercises, or just for hanging out or playing games."

"And we didn't even start on the Astro Megazord form," Carlos said. "Diving through a planet's atmosphere to the surface when there's a fight - now, that's what I call exciting."

Ronny's eyes were round with eagerness and envy. "Oh man, you guys are so lucky! I would so love to do the stuff you do!"

T.J. and Carlos both grinned as Mack said, "Well, you know, with Ashley leaving we could use a Yellow Ranger. So if you're really interested..."

"Are you kidding me??" Ronny gasped, and then looked around wildly. "Hey, where's Mr. H? I NEED MY TRACKER!"

- END -


End file.
